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I plan to attend on Sunday, although also awaiting an answer to the open letter on the same subject.
I do note that the email below says:
'I know a lot about these other subjects (so my ommision very little about this one) and yet despite that I still felt it appropriate to vote for this bill ignoring the expert advice on its flaws, concerns about the lack of die process and the almost unchallenged views expressed by many other MPs including fellow labour MPs that the bill is fundamentally flawed'
It ignores the fact that the government chose not to give this bill further time for debate despite parliament ending early on many days prior to the calling of the general election.
It also ignores the fact that the Lords also expressed grave concern that such a technical bill required significant further debate and refinement.
The worst kinds of law are those which can not be implemented or which have obvious unwanted side effects and this bill fails on both counts.
It also ignores the fact that the vested interests expressing a need for such a law (lobbying) have demonstrably falsified their case in the limited scrutiny to date and those flawed figures have subsequently continued to be repeated and further exagerated by the government.
So we now have a poorly drafted and worded act, impotent without the further work which should have preceeded agreeing to make it law, based on flawed exagerated justifications lobbied for by an anacronistic industry that pre-dates the digital age and is failing at every opportunity to adapt and benefit from the very digital ecconomy the act purports to try to nurture.
I will look forward to your responses to these points in person on Sunday however.
Sent from my phone, so please forgive brevity and any spelling errors
On 14 Apr 2010, at 15:14, Linda Gilroy
Thank you for contacting me about Parliamentary scrutiny of the Digital Economy Bill.
I understand your concerns that the bill was rushed through just before the election. The Bill started its way through parliament in the Lords where it did receive extensive scrutiny during its passage and over 700 amendments were debated. Most Bills start in the Commons of course – but highly technical bills are often started in the Lords so that they can be explored through substantial debate before they get to the House of Commons – and with the input of experts who are often present in greater numbers in the Lords. This also happened with the Climate Change Bill and the Marine and Coastal Access Bill. I served with some 16 other MPs on the detailed committee stage of both these Bills where the subject matter is something I am comparatively knowledgeable about.
The debate in the Lords took a lot of the time consuming spade-work out of what we needed to further revise.
The Digital Economy Bill was also considered by a number of Parliamentary Committees before it even got to the Lords.
It has of course now been debated in and passed by the House of Commons. Very strong views were expressed on both sides of the public discussion about unlawful online copyright infringement.
I agree with you that it is undeniable that full Commons scrutiny as well as Lords scrutiny would have been preferable. Unfortunately, the announcement of the General Election meant that all stages of the Commons process were completed during the “wash-up”. This is the process through which the government agrees with the opposition as to how to conclude business before Parliament is dissolved. The “wash up” process requires legislation to be supported by a very broad consensus in the House of Commons. The Commons scrutiny of the Digital Economy Bill concluded in the “wash up” last week with 189 votes in favour of the bill to 47 against.
Votes in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords have reflected a clear view across Parliament that unlawful online copyright infringement is a serious problem affecting our creative industries and individual artists, which the law needs to tackle. This is an issue that businesses in Plymouth, especially in the creative arts, have told me about time and time again over the last ten years. However, Parliament has also recognised the difficulties in tackling unlawful copyright infringements effectively. Much of the debate across both Houses rightly focused upon this.
During the Commons stages of the Bill last week, further amendments were made. As the Act now stands, further regulations will be required before technical measures can be applied in cases of copyright infringements via peer-to-peer file sharing, or before a copyright owner can apply for a court order to block an infringing website. These further amendments tabled in the Commons debates require public consultation and a higher level of parliamentary scrutiny – the so-called super affirmative procedure – before the regulations can be introduced. There will, therefore, be further opportunity for Parliamentary scrutiny (and amendment of the provisions) before any sanctions for these breaches will be agreed or applied. During the Commons debates, Clause 43, which covered orphan licences, was dropped from the Bill.
I absolutely agree with you that the digital economy and the internet play an important and increasing role in the lives and livelihoods of many people in this country, which is why it was important to ensure the passage of the Digital Economy Bill during the ‘wash-up’ procedure. Things are changing so fast that to wait another 6-12 months – if this could be prioritised in a new parliament - just did not seem right.
As you can see from my website (I was one of the first 50 MPs to have one back in 1990s – and use of Facebook and Twitter) I do value this form of communication and try my best to use it!
I am also acutely aware of how important both the Digital Economy and the cultural industries – and how they can come together - are to Plymouth. I work with Alison Seabeck in Devonport to advance the case for Plymouth to get high speed broadband access and a hub connecting to the transatlantic cable together with the siting of a secure centre at Mount Wise. This could really put Plymouth on the Digital economy map of the UK.
Thank you for taking the time and trouble to let me know your concerns on this issue.
Given the importance of this issue I would welcome the chance to talk to you about this. As a number of people have written to me I am holding a special meeting at the T&G offices, New Union House, 2 Harbour Avenue, Sutton Harbour at 2-3pm on Sunday 18 April for people especially concerned about this issue to come and talk to me about this Bill. I hope to meet you in person on Sunday. If you do come please be aware that the nearest parking is at Staples. When you arrive at New Union House you will need to press the bottom buzzer for entrance. It would be helpful if you could give me an indication of whether you plan to attend by emailing votegilroy@hotmail.co.uk
Yours sincerely,
Linda Gilroy
Labour & Cooperative Candidate for Plymouth Sutton & Devonport
Website:www.lindagilroy.org.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/lindagilroy
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lindagilroy
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LindaGilroyPlymouth
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