To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what representations he has received since June 2007 on performing rights royalties; what discussions (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials have had with representatives of the music and film industry since June 2007 on this issue; what the (i) location and (ii) duration of each meeting was; whether a record of each meeting was kept; who attended each meeting; and if he will undertake an assessment of the effectiveness of the royalties system. (177121)

Ministers and officials from my Department have had, and continue to have, regular contact with representatives of the music and film industry. An inspection of available records show that there have been no substantive discussions on performing rights royalties during this period.

In terms of other representations, the Department has occasionally received letters forwarded by hon. Members from their constituents about this issue.

Although copyright law that underpins these royalties is shaped largely by international and European law, Ministers and officials are aware of the need to keep the UK system under review. The most recent review of intellectual property, by Andrew Gowers, made no recommendations which directly focused on the royalties system.