Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the proposed (1) governance, (2) ownership, and (3) operating model, for the Creative Content Exchange (CCE); and whether the CCE will be structured to be commercially independent of AI developers and government.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Creative Content Exchange is a proof of concept pilot, funded by UKRI’s Research and Development Missions Accelerator Programme. Governance structures, ownership and operating model will be considered at a later stage should the CCE proceed beyond the pilot phase.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government who will be responsible for setting the terms on which creative content is made available in the Creative Content Exchange (CCE); and how they intend to ensure that independent creators and smaller creative businesses, as well as major rights holders, are equitably represented in the CCE's design and operation.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Creative Content Exchange is currently in a pilot phase so the exact terms on which content is made available, including pricing and the terms of use for licensed content, are still to be determined. The expectation is that content owners will be able to set their own pricing and control of the specific use-cases of licensing.

During the pilot phase the CCE is focused on creative content held by large cultural institutions. Government is committed to ensuring that the specific circumstances and requirements of independent creators and small creative businesses are represented. In particular, the 18th March 2026 Statement on Copyright and AI Progress announced a working group on independent and smaller creative organisations to explore whether there is a role for government to support their ability to license their content.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the extent to which national museums in England have increased their reliance on commercial income streams between 2014–15 and 2024–25, and (2) the risks that such reliance poses to free public access, collection stewardship, and the fulfilment of museums' statutory and charitable purposes.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

DCMS publishes annual data for grant-in-aid and fundraising income alongside trend analysis of those figures. The figures for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are due to be published in April 2026. Other sources of self-generated income are published in each museum or gallery’s Annual Report and Accounts.

The Government continues to support national museums in their efforts to diversify their income streams. This has included providing these bodies with additional ‘freedoms’ including the ability to maintain, invest and spend reserves of self-generated income. Alongside public funding, commercial income is an important factor which supports the museums to fulfil their statutory and charitable purposes.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes in grant-in-aid funding since 2014–15 on (1) free public admission, (2) opening hours, (3) the number and range of temporary exhibitions, and (4) educational and outreach programmes, at national museums in England; and whether any such museums have reduced or restricted services as a direct consequence of funding pressures.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

DCMS monitors the overall financial sustainability of the national museums but we have not undertaken an assessment of these specific issues. All national museums have provided free public access to their permanent collections since 2001. National museums are operationally independent of government, with decisions about opening hours, exhibitions, and educational and outreach programming the responsibility of each body’s board of trustees.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the real-terms change, expressed both as a percentage and in cash terms, in grant-in-aid allocations to each national museum in England between 2014–15 and 2024–25; and what deflator they have used in making that calculation.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

DCMS publishes annual data for grant-in-aid, fundraising income and other income at national museums and galleries, alongside trend analysis of those figures. This analysis includes adjustments for inflation. The figures for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are due to be published in April 2026. Other sources of self-generated income are published in each museum or gallery’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the proportion of operating income derived from grant-in-aid compared to self-generated income at each national museum in England for each financial year from 2014–15 to 2024–25; and what assessment they have made of any trends in those figures.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

DCMS publishes annual data for grant-in-aid, fundraising income and other income at national museums and galleries, alongside trend analysis of those figures. This analysis includes adjustments for inflation. The figures for 2023/24 and 2024/25 are due to be published in April 2026. Other sources of self-generated income are published in each museum or gallery’s Annual Report and Accounts.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of public funding allocated to national museums in England in each financial year from 2014–15 to 2024–25 was directed to (1) capital expenditure, and (2) day-to-day operating costs; and whether they have made an assessment of the adequacy of capital investment in maintaining and developing museum buildings, collections infrastructure and digital capacity.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The national museums and galleries are operationally independent and therefore decisions about allocating budgets are made by individual museums.

The Government has significantly increased its investment in national museum and gallery estates since 2014/15. This includes the recent commitment to invest £600 million over the course of this Parliament to tackle urgent maintenance backlogs and essential estate works at national museums and galleries, the British Library and British Film Institute.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how per-capita public funding for national museums in England compares with that provided by central government to equivalent national institutions in (1) France, (2) Germany, (3) the Netherlands, and (4) Spain; and what methodology they have used in making any such comparison.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We have not made a specific comparison to institutions in the countries specified.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether existing UK copyright law can be effectively applied to the use of copyright works in AI training in the absence of mandatory transparency obligations.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government recognises that greater transparency about how AI developers train their models, including the content and data they use, can help right holders enforce their rights.

The Government published a report and impact assessment on AI and copyright on 18 March. It outlines the views it has received on input transparency following its consultation and commits to work with industry and experts to develop best practice.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to Copyright and Artificial Intelligence: Impact Assessment, published on 18 March, what plans they have to collect further evidence before reaching a policy decision on the preferred option for the use of copyright works in AI development; and when they expect to introduce legislative proposals for that option.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We will not introduce reforms to copyright law until we are confident that they will meet our objectives for the economy and UK citizens. This means protecting the UK’s position as a creative powerhouse, while unlocking the extraordinary potential of AI to grow the economy and improve lives.

On 18 March, we published our impact assessment on copyright and AI. This emphasised the limited and uncertain evidence on the impact of copyright on the development and deployment of AI in the UK. We have committed to address the evidence gaps and review our approach considering wider market and international developments.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to Copyright and Artificial Intelligence: Impact Report, published on 18 March, what measures they plan to introduce, including low-cost dispute resolution, collective enforcement or regulatory remedies, to ensure creative industry micro-businesses are able to protect their rights.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

This Government is determined to protect the UK’s position as a world-leading creative powerhouse and unlock the extraordinary potential of AI to grow the economy and improve British lives. In March, we published a report and impact assessment, fulfilling the commitments made in the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.

The Government proposed a programme of further work to consider ways of enforcing requirements and restrictions relating to the use of copyright works to develop AI systems. This work will include considering the likely effect of any proposals that are made on copyright owners, developers and users who are individuals, SMEs and micro businesses (including individual creators) with fewer resources.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the publication on 18 March of Copyright and Artificial Intelligence: Impact Assessment that does not establish a preferred option fully discharges their obligations under section 135 of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025; and if not, what further steps they are required to take under that section of the Act.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Section 135 required the Secretary of State to prepare and publish an assessment of the economic impact in the United Kingdom of each of the four policy options that were consulted on in relation to copyright law and the training of artificial intelligence models using copyright works. The impact assessment published on 18 March assessed the potential impact of each of those four options.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce mandatory transparency requirements on AI developers regarding training data that are independent of text and data mining exceptions; if so, what legislative procedure they plan to use; and to what timetable.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Information about how AI developers train their models, including the content and data they use, can help developers demonstrate their compliance with copyright law and help right holders enforce their rights. Currently, developers take a varied approach to transparency, though requirements in other countries are beginning to support greater consistency.

On March 18, we published a report and Impact Assessment on AI and copyright, as required under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. As part of this, we committed to a programme of work to help right holders control and license their work. This will include working with a range of industry and other experts to develop best practice on input transparency.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the introduction of requirements for developers of generative AI systems available in the UK to publish information about training data sources.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Information about how AI developers train their models, including the content and data they use, can help developers demonstrate their compliance with copyright law and help right holders enforce their rights. Currently, developers take a varied approach to transparency, though requirements in other countries are beginning to support greater consistency.

On March 18, we published a report and Impact Assessment on AI and copyright, as required under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. As part of this, we committed to a programme of work to help right holders control and license their work. This will include working with a range of industry and other experts to develop best practice on input transparency.