Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart C McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 16th November 2023 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

1. What recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of AI on the creative sector.

[Alex Sobel (Leeds North West) (Lab/Co-op)]

4. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of AI on under-represented groups in the creative industries.

[The Minister for Media, Tourism and Creative Industries (Sir John Whittingdale)]

I will endeavour to be succinct. AI offers huge benefits and opportunities to the creative sector, but it also brings challenges. The Government have engaged extensively with the creative industries and others about it and will continue to do so.

[Stuart C. McDonald]

I thank the Minister for his succinct response, but, as he knows, the Select Committee has called for the Government to abandon the proposed copyright exemptions for text and data mining, which the chief executive officer of UK Music succinctly described as a

“green light to music laundering”.

Can the Minister confirm that the Government will not undermine artists and musicians by exempting AI data mining from copyright restrictions?

[Sir John Whittingdale]

As the hon. Gentleman is probably aware, there are ongoing discussions between creative rights owners and the platforms and others through the Intellectual Property Office, but it has made clear that, unless permitted under licence or on exception, making copies under text and data mining will constitute copyright infringement.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stuart Andrew]

I know that my hon. Friend has taken a keen interest in this, and he is absolutely right that we need to see improved governance. That is why we appointed two special advisers, who have been working with both the premier league and the Rugby Football Union to come up with solutions. We are having meetings with them constantly and will ensure that they progress.

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

T7. Citizens across the EU now benefit from increased transparency in how big tech companies target them with adverts and propaganda thanks to the Digital Services Act. Of course, we have missed out because of Brexit. What will the Government do to provide increased transparency and tackle bad-faith actors using big tech to target our citizens?

[Sir John Whittingdale]

The online advertising taskforce has come forward with a number of measures, and we are looking both to legislate in this area in due course and to introduce non-statutory measures. We are committed to protecting vulnerable people from inappropriate advertising, and to tackling fraudulent advertising.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart C McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 10th February 2022 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

All violence is unacceptable, and I am grateful to those police officers who stepped in to assist the Leader of the Opposition. No one should have to endure that experience. The Prime Minister has spoken on the subject; I am not going to add any more to his comments. What I will say is that on the big calls Labour gets it wrong, and on the things that matter, this Prime Minister and this Government are leading us through covid and international diplomacy against Russian aggression.

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

Was the Attorney General able to read an interesting article this week by her noble Friend, former Conservative Minister Baroness Altmann, warning of a “slippery slope” towards authoritarian rule and an elected dictatorial elite seeking to override Parliament? Whether it is undermining judicial review, shredding human rights protections, endless ouster clauses, restricted appeal rights or tearing up international treaties, none of it is upholding the rule of law. Is not everything the Attorney General is doing putting the Government above the law?

[The Attorney General]

I strongly refute that suggestion. I am not aware of the report to which the hon. Gentleman refers, but the freedoms and protections that we all enjoy rely fundamentally on the rule of law. I know he understands that: it is an important constitutional principle that demands equality under the law and access to an independent judiciary. The Government are subject to the law. Those are the foundational principles that I adhere to and that I know this Government stick to.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart C McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 18th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

To return to the original topic, perhaps the Attorney General should take this opportunity to congratulate the Scottish Parliament on voting unanimously to incorporate the convention on the rights of the child, and follow Holyrood’s example, instead of trying to stymie it. Three little subsections of the Act were ruled incompetent, as they would limit the powers of this Parliament and reserved public authorities to contravene children’s rights. Will the Attorney General explain why her Government fought so hard for the powers to breach children’s rights, and will she ensure that the powers are transferred to Edinburgh to complete the job? In short, let us prioritise children’s rights instead of this Parliament’s rights to trample all over them.

[The Attorney General]

With respect to the hon. Gentleman, I take greater instruction from the President of the Supreme Court who stated in paragraph 77 of his judgment that there had been a decision by the Scottish Parliament to draft and enact a provision whose plain meaning did not accurately represent the law. That could not have been Parliament’s intention in enacting the Scotland Act 1998, and that is a decisive and emphatic statement from the Supreme Court. I say gently to the hon. Gentleman that if the Scottish National party really cared about children’s rights, it would stop obsessing about constitutional division and instead focus on reversing the plummeting standards in Scottish schools.

Draft Introduction and the Import of Cultural Goods (Revocation) Regulations 2021

Stuart C McDonald Excerpts

Tuesday 14th September 2021 General Committees

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Hosie. I would have been tempted to vote against the regulations, but in the circumstances, I will settle for a short moan.

I agree with the Minister and the shadow spokesperson that the regulations relate to hugely important issues, first because they relate to the protection of valuable and culturally significant items and secondly, because they help to stymie the funding of terrorism and the activities of organised crime. However, the various criticisms of the draft instrument raised when it was debated in June in House of Lords are yet to be addressed. In that debate the process was described as rushed and the word used was “cavalier”, and I tend to agree with that criticism. In fact, we are only getting to debate the SI today because the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments expressed concern about the use of the negative procedure. I think it is important that we have the opportunity to debate the instrument today.

Ministers are using a power to make technical fixes to retained EU law, but it has been acknowledged that it would have been open to them to make a small tweak to the retained EU regulations rather than repeal them entirely. What is suggested today is way beyond a technical fix—in some respects, it is a full-blown change in policy. Arguably, that change should not be made using such powers, and, indeed, made only after a thorough consultation and scrutiny of alternative proposals. Perhaps that should be conducted by the Law Commission, as the shadow Minister suggested.

I am happy to accept that there may be problems with the way in which the EU regulations operate, but they should be studied and detailed proposals for reform should be suggested, rather than the SI before us. Proper consultation and policy scrutiny would have avoided the various questions and issues raised in the other place. In fact, it is not even clear exactly how our rules and processes will differ after this SI comes into force, because our domestic laws will revert to depending upon a right hodgepodge of international conventions and different Acts of Parliament. The Minister said that the SI will provide clarity and certainty but actually complexity and confusion will come back into force.

As I understand it, the rules are not always brilliantly enforced in the UK and they require little by way of active checks. That brooks no criticism of those involved in the difficult work of enforcement, but it is a criticism of the hodgepodge of rules with which they have to contend.

Their lordships also highlighted that there will be different rules in different parts of the United Kingdom. Part of that difference is a legitimate function of devolution, but very significantly, part of that is a function of the Northern Ireland protocol, which has yet to be mentioned. It would be helpful to know how different will the respective regimes be in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. Is there not a danger that those differences risk providing a back door to certain illegal trade?

Regardless of that lack of clarity, there is a strong suggestion that we will revert to a slightly weaker system. An example provided by Blue Shield UK was cited in the House of Lords debate. It was argued that without the retention of the EU regulation, we will revert to a position where it would not be illegal to import into the UK an Egyptian cultural object on grounds that it was illegally exported from that country, despite Egypt having national legislation to that effect. Under the domestic regime to which we are reverting, one would have to show that that object was stolen for any problem to arise with its importation.

There seems to be a suggestion that we are reverting to rules that are different and weaker, and therefore at risk of damaging our reputation. My simple point is that before we go repealing EU regulations there should be proper consultation on what should replace them, and a consolidation of all domestic and international rules that apply here. In that way we can be clear about what exactly will be different about the new system, and we can scrutinise it properly.

I have had my moan and in the circumstances I will not press the matter to a vote, but I would be interested to hear what the Minister has to say in response to some of those questions and criticisms.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart C McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 10th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

The Solicitor General referred to prosecuting the people who control the vessels, but they are, as my hon. Friend the Member for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (Martyn Day) said, the victims of these gangs—not members of the gangs—so there has been a change in CPS policy and practice. If he wants to prove me wrong on that, will he publish the new note or guidance on this offence that I understand was issued to CPS lawyers last month, and will he also publish details of any representations made by the Home Office in the last 18 months in relation to this offence?

[The Solicitor General]

As I say, the policy is clear on prosecutors’ obligations. They have obligations—the obligations that we have under article 31 of the refugee convention—and it is well to point out that those obligations are actually enshrined in our domestic legislation, here in this honourable House. The domestic legislation in section 31 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 is quite clear in this area. Those who facilitate, control and engineer these offences are subject to prosecution.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart C McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 5th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Oliver Dowden]

I would be delighted to attend my right hon. Friend’s all-party group. Heritage is often an overlooked part of our cultural sector. That is why I am delighted that we have been able to support over 150 museums up and down the country as part of the culture recovery fund. That includes, in his own area, Bristol’s iconic SS Great Britain getting £900,000, and more than £500,000 for the aerospace museum in Filton.

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

Freelancers in my constituency and across the UK are the backbone of the culture and arts industries, but many have suffered badly through their exclusion from the furlough and self-employed support schemes. Has the Secretary of State persuaded the Chancellor to include them in these, or parallel, schemes while restrictions continue in the months ahead?

[Oliver Dowden]

I understand the many challenges faced by freelancers and I hear about this every day in my capacity as Culture Secretary. Across the economy, 66% of freelancers can benefit from the Treasury scheme, which has been increased again by the Chancellor. In addition, as the hon. Gentleman knows, as a result of Barnett consequentials and the culture recovery fund, there are opportunities for almost £100 million to be spent on this by the Scottish Government.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Attorney General]

Yes, I know that the hon. Lady had an esteemed career as a lawyer, and we share a common interest in upholding the position of lawyers in our society. Any violence—I must make this clear—is utterly deplorable against any lawyer or anyone going about their work. But we have to be clear that, more broadly, there are lawyers who have gone on the record to make it clear that they are pursuing politics through the courts. There are judges who have felt compelled in their decisions to remind counsel that judicial review is not and should not be regarded as politics by another means. Everyone in the profession needs to take heed of those observations in making their professional decisions.

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

I think many in the legal profession will be horrified by the approach that the Attorney General is taking today. She must, like the Lord Chancellor, accept that the comments from the Home Office and the Prime Minister went way beyond legitimate criticism, devaluing the values of lawyers and questioning their motivation. Will she join the criticism of the remarks that were made? Will she also investigate whether sources in the Government and Whitehall have been responsible for identifying individual law firms and lawyers when anonymously briefing newspapers about activities that the Home Secretary and No. 10 are angered by?

[The Attorney General]

The hon. Gentleman refers to law firms and, by implication, the incident, which was very serious and, as I say, deplorable. It is not something to trivialise or politicise, and we should be careful not to draw conclusions about any incident that is under investigation. I know that he specialised in immigration law. I defended the Home Office for many years in the same field of law. We know that the vast majority of lawyers who specialise in immigration law are upholding the highest standards, are devoted to their clients and are working to secure justice. But we only have to look at the records of the Bar Standards Board or the Solicitors Regulation Authority to see that there are those who fall short of those high standards, and it is right that action should be taken to stop that sub-optimal delivery of service.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart C McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 24th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

I prefer to take a less emotional approach than the hon. Lady. I am extremely proud to be supporting this Bill. It protects our country and it safeguards the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The leader of the hon. Lady’s party called for patriotism this week, but their opposition to this Bill is anything but patriotic. How she can call herself an MP who sits in the United Kingdom Parliament and at the same time vote against a Bill that defends the unity of our country, maintains peace in Northern Ireland and enables the United Kingdom—our country, her country—to thrive is not only illogical but does a grave disservice to the nation’s interests.

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

The Attorney General has just clearly illustrated that she is in office because, unlike Jonathan Jones and Lord Keen, she is putting her political loyalties—her Brexit fanaticism—ahead of her loyalty to the rule of law, when it should be the other way around. That is why she should resign. But does not this whole episode also illustrate why future Attorneys General should be lawyers and not party politicians? It is all right for her to trash her own reputation, but not the reputation of the office of Attorney General.

[The Attorney General]

The legal basis for the Government’s proposals was set out in the statements of 10 and 17 September. Those made it clear that it is entirely proper, entirely constitutional and lawful in domestic law to enact legislation that may operate in breach of international law or treaty obligations. It is a pretty basic principle of law, and if the hon. Gentleman is having trouble understanding, I would be very happy to sit down and explain it to him.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart C McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 9th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

I very much regret that the Attorney General does not seem to share my enthusiasm for the Human Rights Act. She knows as well as anyone that messing about with it endangers future justice and security co-operation, as well as trade, with the EU, so why do the Government not put our safety, security and prosperity first and ditch the Tory party’s Human Rights Act obsession?

[The Attorney General]

I share, I hope, the hon. Gentleman’s commitment to law enforcement and criminal justice work throughout our nations, and I believe deeply in our co-operation on criminal justice matters with our neighbours. What I object to, however, is any submission to the European Court of Justice, and I am committed to our manifesto commitment to looking at the Human Rights Act and updating it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart C McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney General]

There is no question of weakening judicial review. The question is whether we can make it more efficient and streamlined, and more focused on the purpose: holding the Government to account for their administrative decisions. Even the hon. Gentleman will have to accept that some judicial review cases have been brought that should perhaps never have been started—often they are indeed thrown out by the courts—and we can prevent the courts being clogged up with those applications. So I say to him: let us wait and see. The Government are looking at this extremely carefully, but I want him to understand one thing: there is no question of backsliding upon the fundamental principle of the independence of the judiciary.

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

I welcome the Attorney General back to his place on the Government Bench, but it was from the Back Benches, in February 2017, that he made a superb speech on the human rights of unaccompanied asylum seeking children, calling on the Government not just to pay “lip service” to those rights, but to make them “practical and effective”. So if the Government are genuinely committed to making those Dublin rights effective post-Brexit, why do they not just unilaterally decide to continue to accept unaccompanied children with family members here? Why are the Government seeking to repeal even the modest obligations to negotiate their rights under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018?

[The Attorney General]

We are not seeking to repeal this; we are simply removing the statutory requirement to negotiate it. The Government wrote in October last year seeking commencement of negotiation on family reunification. The principle is fundamental and one to which the Government are committed: vulnerable, unaccompanied children must be able to reunite with their family members in this country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stuart C McDonald Excerpts

Thursday 3rd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Matt Warman]

We are acutely conscious that the best possible market is one driven by competition. As we take forward our huge investment to ensure a better connected country, one of our key long-term aspirations will be to develop greater competition.

[Stuart C. McDonald (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (SNP)]

T4. We have been waiting since July for the Government to raise the charity lottery annual sales limit to £50 million. Every month of dither and delay means good causes across the UK missing out. When will this widely supported and carefully consulted on policy finally be delivered?

[Helen Whately]

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Government ran a consultation from June to September 2018, reviewed the 1,600 responses and concluded that the per-draw limit for society lotteries would increase from £4 million to £5 million and that the prize limit would increase from £400,000 to £500,000. The Government are committed to making sure that the regulatory framework for lotteries is appropriate and that both society lotteries and the national lottery can thrive. The Gambling Commission will, however, run a consultation seeking views on additional transparency measures before the new limits are implemented.