All-Party Parliamentary Writers Group 2023 AGM Minutes
Held at 13:00 on 25th April 2023 in Meeting Room Q, Portcullis House
Attendees
Giles Watling MP
Lord Richard Balfe
Earl of Clancarty
Wera Hobhouse MP
Pete Wishart MP
- Introductions
Giles Watling MP welcomed attendees and confirmed quorum had been met.
- Election of officers
Proposed by Lord Balfe and seconded by Pete Wishart MP; the members of the All-Party Parliamentary Writers Group elected the following officers:
| Role | Name | Party |
| Chair | Giles Watling MP | Conservative |
| Vice Chair | Pete Wishart MP | SNP |
| Vice Chair | Lord Richard Balfe | Conservative |
| Vice Chair | Earl of Clancarty | Crossbench |
| Vice Chair | Chris Evans MP | Labour |
| Vice Chair | Lord Tim Clement-Jones | Lib Dems |
| Vice Chair | Julie Elliott MP | Labour |
| Vice Chair | Andrew Lewer MP | Conservative |
| Vice Chair | Bob Stewart MP | Conservative |
| Secretary | Baroness Floella Benjamin | Lib Dems |
| Treasurer | Lord Alf Dubs | Labour |
3. Review of the year
Re-elected Chair, Giles Watling MP, invited ALCS CEO and Group Administrator, Barbara Hayes to present the review of the year which featured the work of the APWG on its advocacy and lobbying activities including the launch of the new Authors’ Earnings Report and roundup of the campaign meetings and receptions hosted in association with the group.
- Priorities of the group for the next year
Re-elected Chair, Giles Watling MP, presented the priorities of the group for next year before opening conversation to the group. The Chair of the APWG anticipates the focus in the coming year will be on:
Giles anticipated the focus of the APWG in the coming year will be on:
- Continue to campaign for greater creator engagement with government through a dedicated freelance commissioner.
- Ensuring authors are fairly compensated for the use of their work in the platform economy through the Digital Markets Unit.
- Continue to monitor AI technologies and their impact on authors, campaigning for protection of their interests and fair renueration where their works are used.
In addition to these areas of focus the group discussed ongoing policy concerns for writers including:
- The creation of a ‘Smart Fund’ to pay authors for uses of their work and also deliver targeted support to creative communities across the country with funds raised from sales of technical devices to compensate authors for the copying of their works such devices enable.
- Protect and promote the UK’s effective copyright system, as the IPO has not made a final decision on the status of the UK’s copyright exhaustion regime.
- Remove VAT on audiobooks to resolve an ongoing unfairness, where other formats of books are VAT free.
- Campaign for an increase in the Public Lending Right pot for authors to better remunerate them for the contribution they make to libraries, the Public Lending Right fund has not been increased in over ten years.
