WISHART DISAPPOINTMENT AT DIGITAL WHITE PAPER

SNP Culture and Broadcasting spokesperson Pete Wishart MP has expressed disappointment that the UK Government’s Digital Britain white paper has failed to support the establishment of a Scottish Digital Channel. Mr Wishart also said that the long-awaited plan must go further in supporting the creative economy and artists.

In particular, Mr Wishart argued that more must be done to ensure artists are protected from piracy and properly rewarded for their work.

Mr Wishart said:

“Scottish licence fee payers are currently being short-changed, and it is extremely disappointing that this long-awaited white paper has failed to recognise and support the Scottish Broadcasting Commissions recommendation that a Scottish Digital TV network would safeguard the public service broadcasting plurality in Scotland .

“The Scottish Parliament voted unanimously in favour of establishing a Scottish Digital Network, which would deliver greater choice and improved services for viewers. It is the UK Government that has all the levers on broadcasting powers and they must do more to make this digital channel a reality.

“While the ambition to secure universal broadband access is to be welcomed, more must be done to protect those who are working in our creative economy. Our creative industries contribute significantly to the economy and are a key route to economic recovery, yet protection for artists and creators remains an afterthought.

“Where the Digital Britain White Paper accepts more has to be done to protect artists and creators from piracy, the solutions suggested are hesitant and insufficient.

“Writing letters to persistent downloaders and threatening slower internet speeds seems a feeble response to the loss of millions of pounds of income to artists and creators. What is needed is a mixture of effective technical measures, creative solutions, but above all the political will to tackle this problem.”

(BERR) Digital britain summit - equipping britain for a digital future

Technology and communications experts will debate how best to equip Britain for a digital future, at a Digital Britain summit in the British Library tomorrow.

Speakers including telecoms CEOs Ian Livingstone, Neil Berkett and Ronan Dunne, technophile Stephen Fry, Universal Music's Lucian Grainge, Johannes B. Larcher from Hulu, Hirouki Hishinuma from the Japanese Government and Will Hutton, Chief Executive of the Work Foundation, will join 250 industry leaders to address how to secure Britain's place at the forefront of the global digital economy.

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, Sly Bailey (Chief Executive, Trinity Mirror) and John Fingleton (Chief Executive, Office of Fair Trading) will deliver keynote speeches.

Stephen A. Carter, Minister for Communications, Technology and Broadcasting said:

"The health and success of our digital information and communications sectors are crucial to the future strength of Britain's economy. In the interim Digital Britain Report, we set out our ambition to fully exploit the shift to digital technology."

He added:

"This summit will bring together some of the leading thinkers in the Digital Economy. Their views on how to develop our infrastructure, develop our content and creative industries and keep pace with international competition will be invaluable as we finalise our thinking over the next two months."

There will be four panel discussions to debate the key challenges set out in the interim Digital Britain Report:

Fixing the Plumbing: preparing for tomorrow's digital networks today
Expert Moderator: Francesco Caio, Vice Chairman, Nomura International
Panellists: Neil Berkett, CEO, Virgin Media, Ronan Dunne, CEO, Telefonica O2 UK, Ian Livingston, Chief Executive of BT Group, Stuart McIntosh, Competition Partner, Ofcom

Infrastructure issues will determine the UK's readiness to fully exploit the dramatic shift to digital technology, and require that our wired and wireless communications and broadcasting networks are upgraded to maintain our position and meet our ambitions.

The New Digital Arms Race:
Panellists: Stephen A. Carter, Samuel Sun, CEO, Huawei Technologies,
Hirouki Hishinuma, Director for New Competition Policy, Ministry of Internal Affairs & Communications, Japan.
While UK Plc is internationally recognised as being strong in digital technology, other countries are increasingly making the development of a digital, knowledge economy a centrepiece of their own economic development. This session will look at different approaches around the globe to achieving a successful digital economy.

Promoting the Poetry: joining the dots between creativity and digital content
Expert Moderator: Anthony Lilley, Chief Executive, Magic Lantern Productions
Panellists: Lucian Grainge, CEO, Universal Music, Johannes B. Larcher, Senior Vice President of International, Hulu, Dan Hon, Co-Founder & CEO, Six to Start
Jess Search, Chief Executive, Channel 4 Documentary Film Foundation
Whilst digital is creating a richer, more colourful world for us all as consumers, it is also bringing new challenges for content creators.

Being Digital: Equipping our society for the digital future
Expert Moderator: Andrew Chitty, MD, Illumina Digital
Panellists: Will Hutton, Chief Executive, The Work Foundation, Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive, British Library, Caroline Thomson, COO, BBC, Stephen Fry, Broadcaster & Technophile
The average British adult spends almost half of all their waking hours using the services of the communications sector, so the Digital Britain initiative is not simply a question of economic competitiveness, but also of fairness. We need to ensure that everyone can connect to the digital economy and that its benefits and advantages are available to all. This means ensuring that all have access to the skills to participate effectively; and that the content and services available provide everyone with a good reason to take part.

The summit can be followed online at http://www.digitalbritainforum.org.uk.This will include a link to the live video stream of the event so you can follow proceedings and submit comments as well as questions for the speakers and panel.
Interested parties can also follow proceedings via twitter at http://www.twitter.com/digitalbritain or tweet questions to @digitalbritain.

The discussions will inform the final Digital Britain Report which will be published this summer.