Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 17 September (HL10442), whether the Government Art Collection claims any form of copyright, other than Crown Copyright, in digital reproductions of two-dimensional artworks that are in the public domain, whether or not those reproductions were taken by Government employees.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government Art Collection (GAC) does not claim copyright in digital reproductions of two-dimensional artworks that are in the public domain. The GAC has not sought or received guidance about the assertion of copyright, aside from Crown Copyright. The decision to license images for commercial and non-commercial use through a contractual agreement is an operational decision taken by the GAC, based on commercial contract law for the access and supply of digital assets.
There are no current or scheduled plans for the GAC to allow high-resolution images of works of art that are in the Government Art Collection and in the public domain to be downloaded free of charge for non-commercial use.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the development of an open data policy that enables national museums and galleries to make high-resolution images of public domain artworks freely available; and whether they plan to adopt open access models such as that used by the Rijksmuseum.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The DCMS-sponsored museums take their responsibilities to extend engagement with their Collections seriously. As Arm’s Length Bodies national museums operate independently and are responsible for developing their own policies, including around the provision of images, and for taking appropriate commercial and legal advice. Policies can be found on the respective websites and image licensing portals of the museums, many of which provide users with the ability to view high resolution images.
The government strongly supports efforts to expand the reach and impact of the national museums, including digitally, while also recognising and encouraging efforts to balance this against the need to raise private income. Government-backed digitisation projects and investment in Collections databases since the Covid pandemic have resulted in marked increases in the accessibility of Collections records. The wider museums sector, whilst not directly funded by the department, is also making progress in increasing digital access to Collections, with the support of organisations and initiatives such as Art UK, the Museum Data Service, and the AHRC-funded Towards a National Collection research project.
The department is working with the national museums to understand the extent and pace of further planned digitisation work, alongside opportunities provided by new work to establish a Creative Content Exchange, to ensure we are both maximising public access to culture, and positioning our cultural organisations to engage fruitfully with the AI revolution underway.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their policy regarding the copyright status of exact digital reproductions of two-dimensional artworks that are in the public domain.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The DCMS-sponsored museums take their responsibilities to extend engagement with their Collections seriously. As Arm’s Length Bodies national museums operate independently and are responsible for developing their own policies, including around the provision of images, and for taking appropriate commercial and legal advice. Policies can be found on the respective websites and image licensing portals of the museums, many of which provide users with the ability to view high resolution images.
The government strongly supports efforts to expand the reach and impact of the national museums, including digitally, while also recognising and encouraging efforts to balance this against the need to raise private income. Government-backed digitisation projects and investment in Collections databases since the Covid pandemic have resulted in marked increases in the accessibility of Collections records. The wider museums sector, whilst not directly funded by the department, is also making progress in increasing digital access to Collections, with the support of organisations and initiatives such as Art UK, the Museum Data Service, and the AHRC-funded Towards a National Collection research project.
The department is working with the national museums to understand the extent and pace of further planned digitisation work, alongside opportunities provided by new work to establish a Creative Content Exchange, to ensure we are both maximising public access to culture, and positioning our cultural organisations to engage fruitfully with the AI revolution underway.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish an open data policy requiring national museums and galleries to make high-resolution images of public domain artworks freely available for non-commercial use; and if so, what definitions they will use for (1) high resolution, and (2) non-commercial.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The DCMS-sponsored museums take their responsibilities to extend engagement with their Collections seriously. As Arm’s Length Bodies national museums operate independently and are responsible for developing their own policies, including around the provision of images, and for taking appropriate commercial and legal advice. Policies can be found on the respective websites and image licensing portals of the museums, many of which provide users with the ability to view high resolution images.
The government strongly supports efforts to expand the reach and impact of the national museums, including digitally, while also recognising and encouraging efforts to balance this against the need to raise private income. Government-backed digitisation projects and investment in Collections databases since the Covid pandemic have resulted in marked increases in the accessibility of Collections records. The wider museums sector, whilst not directly funded by the department, is also making progress in increasing digital access to Collections, with the support of organisations and initiatives such as Art UK, the Museum Data Service, and the AHRC-funded Towards a National Collection research project.
The department is working with the national museums to understand the extent and pace of further planned digitisation work, alongside opportunities provided by new work to establish a Creative Content Exchange, to ensure we are both maximising public access to culture, and positioning our cultural organisations to engage fruitfully with the AI revolution underway.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government which national museums and galleries claim copyright in their digital reproductions of two-dimensional original artworks that are in the public domain.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The DCMS-sponsored museums take their responsibilities to extend engagement with their Collections seriously. As Arm’s Length Bodies national museums operate independently and are responsible for developing their own policies, including around the provision of images, and for taking appropriate commercial and legal advice. Policies can be found on the respective websites and image licensing portals of the museums, many of which provide users with the ability to view high resolution images.
The government strongly supports efforts to expand the reach and impact of the national museums, including digitally, while also recognising and encouraging efforts to balance this against the need to raise private income. Government-backed digitisation projects and investment in Collections databases since the Covid pandemic have resulted in marked increases in the accessibility of Collections records. The wider museums sector, whilst not directly funded by the department, is also making progress in increasing digital access to Collections, with the support of organisations and initiatives such as Art UK, the Museum Data Service, and the AHRC-funded Towards a National Collection research project.
The department is working with the national museums to understand the extent and pace of further planned digitisation work, alongside opportunities provided by new work to establish a Creative Content Exchange, to ensure we are both maximising public access to culture, and positioning our cultural organisations to engage fruitfully with the AI revolution underway.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will allow high-resolution images of works of art that are in the Government Art Collection and in the public domain to be downloaded free of charge for non-commercial use.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government Art Collection (GAC) does not assert Crown Copyright over images of 2D original artworks in the Collection, where the image has been taken by its employees (i.e. Civil Servants). This is a recent change in approach to copyright assertion, with all affected documentation in the process of being updated.
GAC continues to license images for commercial and non-commercial use through a contractual agreement.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Government Art Collection claims copyright in their digital reproductions of two-dimensional original artworks that are in the public domain.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government Art Collection (GAC) does not assert Crown Copyright over images of 2D original artworks in the Collection, where the image has been taken by its employees (i.e. Civil Servants). This is a recent change in approach to copyright assertion, with all affected documentation in the process of being updated.
GAC continues to license images for commercial and non-commercial use through a contractual agreement.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent Spending Review, what discussions they have held with further education providers, heritage craft training organisations, and relevant guilds regarding the development of targeted apprenticeships and upskilling programmes to support the transmission of traditional and endangered craft skills to ensure the sustainability of the UK’s heritage craft sector.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As highlighted in the recent debate on support for the crafts sector (12th July), the UK’s craft industry is a custodian of heritage, a source of enrichment, and a powerful driver of growth.
The skills system is central to achieving economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity. The government will provide £1.2 billion of additional investment in the skills system per year by 2028-29, and will set out further detail on its plans in a strategy for post-16 education and skills later in the year.
DCMS ministers will meet with sector representatives to discuss craft skills soon. As set out in the Creative Industries Sector Plan, the government will also work with industry to support creative sector training pathways, including through a new DCMS and Skills England led Creative Sector Skills Forum. We will develop the growth and skills offer to deliver apprenticeships and skills training that recognises the particular needs of the Creative Industries, of which the crafts industry is a vital part.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that employment data submitted to public regulators such as Companies House, the Charity Commission for England and Wales, and the Mutuals Public Register are standardised, include full-time equivalent figures, and are accessible in machine-readable formats.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All charities registered in England or Wales, regardless of their annual income, must send a digital annual return to the Charity Commission. These returns are publicly available in a machine readable PDF format on the Charity Commission's website.
The Charity Commission is committed to further digitalisation of the submission of annual accounts information and will continue to explore solutions which are proportionate, affordable and minimise the regulatory burden on charities.
Currently, there are no steps being taken to standardise full time equivalent employment data across companies, charities and mutuals filed with regulators/registrars.
Asked by: Lord Freyberg (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of requiring all registered charities and non-profits with an annual turnover of over £25,000 to submit annual returns to the Charity Commission for England and Wales in machine-readable formats.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
All charities registered in England or Wales, regardless of their annual income, must send a digital annual return to the Charity Commission. These returns are publicly available in a machine readable PDF format on the Charity Commission's website.
The Charity Commission is committed to further digitalisation of the submission of annual accounts information and will continue to explore solutions which are proportionate, affordable and minimise the regulatory burden on charities.
Currently, there are no steps being taken to standardise full time equivalent employment data across companies, charities and mutuals filed with regulators/registrars.