Oral Answers to Questions

Conor McGinn Excerpts

Thursday 21st June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Margot James]

The Government want all of the UK to benefit from 5G, and the future telecoms infrastructure review will create the right policy and regulatory environment to support this aim. After these questions, I will be visiting one of the 5G test bed pilots that is already up and running in Guildford, so I can assure my hon. Friend that across the whole UK, towns as well as cities will benefit from our commitment to 5G.

[Conor McGinn (St Helens North) (Lab)]

T3. Yesterday, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee approved a draft of the proposed directive on copyright in the digital single market. Does the Minister agree that we cannot miss the significant opportunity to address the transfer value experienced by the music industry, and will he assure the House that the Government remain committed to closing the value gap and ensuring that our great British creators, and those who invest in them, are properly rewarded for the use of their work?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, absolutely. Property rights are the foundation of a market economy and intellectual property rights are the 21st-century version of that. The copyright directive is a good directive. We have to get the details right in its implementation, but it is a good step forward and I look forward to it becoming law.