Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the terms and conditions and the appointment letter relating to Baroness Shafik's appointment as (1) Chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and (2) Chief Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Baroness Shafik has been appointed to be the Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister as a Direct Ministerial Appointment. This role is therefore subject to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, which sets out requirements on political activity.
The management of relevant outside interests for this role has been agreed in line with relevant guidance and processes. Baroness Shafik will continue in her role as Chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether Baroness Shafik intends will remain as Chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum in the light of her appointment as Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Baroness Shafik has been appointed to be the Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister as a Direct Ministerial Appointment. This role is therefore subject to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, which sets out requirements on political activity.
The management of relevant outside interests for this role has been agreed in line with relevant guidance and processes. Baroness Shafik will continue in her role as Chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister, Baroness Shafik, will attend the Labour Party Conference; and whether attendance at a Party Conference by the Chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum is in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3.11 of the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies and associated government guidance.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Baroness Shafik has been appointed to be the Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister as a Direct Ministerial Appointment. This role is therefore subject to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, which sets out requirements on political activity.
The management of relevant outside interests for this role has been agreed in line with relevant guidance and processes. Baroness Shafik will continue in her role as Chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to update the news story published on 20 January about the appointment of Baroness Shafik as Chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum in regard to her political activity.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Baroness Shafik has been appointed to be the Chief Economic Adviser to the Prime Minister as a Direct Ministerial Appointment. This role is therefore subject to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies, which sets out requirements on political activity.
The management of relevant outside interests for this role has been agreed in line with relevant guidance and processes. Baroness Shafik will continue in her role as Chair of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to make regulations under section 267 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, in light of concerns raised by cultural and heritage organisations about potential abuses of cooling-off period provisions.
Answered by Lord Leong - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In the ‘Consultation on the implementation of the new subscription regime’, Government consulted on regulatory proposals to implement the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. This included how provisions for the cooling-off period will work. We are analysing the responses, including submissions from the cultural and heritage sectors. Officials have met with relevant representatives and individual organisations in those sectors to hear their views and we continue to engage with the sectors. A Government Response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with train operating companies and other public transport providers about the use of artificial intelligence for announcements, following the case of 'Iona' on ScotRail.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Train Operating Companies are required and regulated by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) as part of their licence conditions to ensure they provide appropriate and accurate information to enable railway passengers and prospective passengers to plan and make their journeys with confidence, including when there is disruption. Buses in England outside London are largely run on a commercial basis, and so any decisions over announcements are for bus operators to make, who are responsible for managing their fleet.
Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what meetings have been held by the Minister of State for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism in his capacity as minister for libraries since July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Ministers and officials have meetings with a variety of organisations in the public and private sectors. Details of ministerial meetings are published on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) public, and (2) community, libraries have been visited by the Minister of State for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism during his time as Minister for Libraries between July 2024 and April 2025.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Minister contributed to the 25th anniversary of the Reading Agency’s Summer Reading Challenge, as well as The British Library’s National StartUp Day.
After a change in the ministerial portfolios within DCMS, from 1 April 2025, I have now taken up the role as Minister with responsibilities for libraries.
Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many policy reviews and consultations the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has launched since the General Election on 4 July 2024; what the subject of each review is; and what the anticipated timescales are for their completion.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Following the election, this Government has outlined its ambitions through the Plan for Change, which sets out an ambitious set of milestones - across the missions - for this Parliament.
As the House would expect, the Government continually reviews its work to ensure that it is delivering the best outcomes for the people of the United Kingdom, and that its policies continue to represent the best value for the taxpayer.
Public reviews will be available on gov.uk as they are published.
Asked by: Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government to set out which meetings (1) the Secretary of State, and (2) other ministers at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have had with (a) artificial intelligence companies and advocacy groups, and (b) creative industry companies and advocacy groups, since July 2024.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to hearing a broad range of views to help inform its approach to copyright and AI.
Ministerial meetings are published according to normal transparency requirements on the gov.uk website.
The current best estimate of the number of meetings involving officials at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (including the Intellectual Property Office) since July 2024 is in the table below.
Month | Creative Industries | AI technology companies | Meetings with both sectors represented |
July ‘24 | 3 | 1 |
|
August ‘24 | 2 | 2 |
|
September ‘24 | 6 | 2 |
|
October ‘24 | 12 | 3 | 3 |
November ‘24 | 8 | 6 | 1 |
December ‘24 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
January ‘25 | 9 | 12 | 5 |
February ‘25 | 8 | 8 | 6 |
This includes meetings where officials from both departments attended.