The Government has issued its response to the previous Culture, Media and Sport Committee’s report on ‘Creator Remuneration’.

We considered the report of the previous committee here. It contained three major recommendations: first, it suggested the introduction of a statutory private copying scheme – modelled on schemes in other jurisdictions – that would impose a small levy on electronic devices or blank media that can be used for private copying, collected by collective management organisations and distributed to creators. Second, the committee called on the Government to address the growing uncertainty about the use of AI in the creative industries, recommending that “creators have proper mechanisms to enforce their consent and receive fair compensation for use of their work by AI developers” and urging the government to set out “measurable objectives for the period of engagement with the AI and rightsholders sectors…and provides a definitive deadline at which it will step in with legislation in order to break any deadlock”. Third, noting the poor working conditions some in the creative industries faced, the committee pushed for the implementation of the recommendations of the Good Work Review and endorsed calls for a ‘Freelancers’ Commissioner’ who would have “appropriate powers and cross-departmental oversight, to advocate across Government in the interests of creative freelancers, and of other freelance and self-employed people more broadly”.

The Government’s response addresses each of these matters in turn. On the matter of introducing a statutory private copying scheme, the Government does not rule it out, but states that more evidence is needed about its efficacy, noting, for example, the decline in private copying by individuals as people turn to streaming services.

Anyone hoping that the Government might provide more detail about its plans to address the balance between protecting creators’ work on the one hand with the ability to develop AI systems on the other will be disappointed by the response on this subject. It notes that the Government “recognises the Committee’s concerns about the lack of action in this area” but that “finding a balance between these concerns is complex matter”. It goes on to explain that “the government is fully aware that the present situation is less than ideal for both AI developers and creators as a lack of legal certainty can impact confidence levels. We intend to proceed carefully but with a degree of urgency in this area and hope to announce next steps soon”.

Tuning to freelancing and calls for fairer contractual terms for workers in the creative industries, the Government points to the broad ambitions of its ‘Plan to Make Work Pay’, including its intended overhaul of employment legislation through the Employment Rights Bill (on which we’ve commented here). It also refers to the continuing work of the ‘Good Work Review Task and Finish Group’ which will, among other things, consider proposals for a Freelance Commissioner and review “options across Government departments, identifying where pan-economy support for the self-employed is already in place, and where the creative industries self-employed workforce faces specific challenges”.

To read the Government’s response in full, click here.