Speeches by Waugh.

“I declare an interest by saying that I am a member of the National Union of Journalists. Matt, can I ask you about inferencing and artificial or synthetic data, which indirectly affects copyrighted works? How much of a threat or an opportunity is that?”

“We had the Minister, Chris Bryant, before our Committee last week, and he made it absolutely clear that one of the central requirements in this consultation is that if the technical solution cannot be found, the Government will not go ahead. That is why I am interested in what you said, Vinous—you think those technical…”

“Matt, we heard from the tech representatives earlier that the DeepSeek example shows that there can be a viable British AI start-up that can outdo the big boys in America, because it can operate cheaper. Can you also flip that and say, “Yes, you can have a British start-up like DeepSeek, but it does not have to rely on…”

“Rochdale Get Together After Serving is opening a brand-new military veterans and community hub at R-KIX sports centre this Saturday. Will the Leader of the House join me in thanking all the local businesses and charities that donated computers, carpets and even new windows for this new hub, which will support job searc…”

“16. What progress his Department has made on developing an industrial strategy.”

“Andy Burnham’s Atom Valley mayoral development zone is creating a world-class supercluster for advanced manufacturing right across 70 million square feet in Rochdale, Oldham, Bury and Middleton. Rochdale’s Kingsway business park will be home to the SMMC—the sustainable materials and manufacturing centre—a world-class c…”

“I warmly welcome the plan for growth, which stands in stark contrast to the low-growth, low-wage and low-investment economy of the last 14 years, but as welcome as the Old Trafford development is, the House will know that I am a Dale fan. May I therefore urge the Treasury and Chief Secretary to warmly support the Atom …”

“They don’t get much from Spotify.”

“You think data has got a lot better. Can it get even better? Is the industry ultimately spending enough on skills, do you think?”

“I will ask you a bit more about skills. Obviously, the BFI takes a lead role in this. The industry is spending quite a lot on training and skills—no one denies that—but the BFI and others have expressed concern about it being too fragmented. How confident are you that ScreenSkills can deliver on that strategy and all t…”

“In 2023, you awarded—we are talking about National Lottery money—more than £9 million for the skills clusters and for the bursaries. I think there was talk about a five-year plan. Where are we on that? Where are we heading in terms of skills?”

“I will keep my question about screen heritage brief because we are already overrunning. Less than 50% of our filmography is held by the BFI. Are the Government supportive of a statutory deposit scheme?”

“At the BFI archive, the Committee heard that the Government could make minor changes to copyright laws to help expand access to collections. Are the Government open to making any reforms in that area?”

“I knew we would come on to that.”

“Given that you just mentioned the technical solution, it seems quite obvious that Government’s consultation relies on the technical solution, and you have made that clear in the House. It is contingent upon finding one. You said that AI and the tech industry should come up with one. My question is to Alastair really. I…”

“Is there any timeframe? Do you have a ballpark figure for how long that might take? The problem is—this is my understanding from the tech industry—that this is so complex that it could take quite a long time, if at all. Given that the Government have bet the farm on a technical solution, where does that leave you if yo…”

“My question is a bigger one. How will the Government judge whether or not that technical solution is workable?”

“On that point, you mentioned Dr Pavis. She told us in evidence that an opt-out model would likely breach international IP treaties. Are you confident—are the Government confident—that you will not be breaching any international treaties?”

“Do you think that the developments in the last few days over DeepSeek underline the fact that the big tech firms that are trying to eat the lunch of lots of creatives in Britain will have their own lunch eaten by a Chinese firm, and maybe they should be treading more cautiously over creatives’ rights?”

“They don’t get much from Spotify.”