Shaun Woodward MP St Helens South (Labour) (Changed party from Conservative on 17 Dec 1999 From theyworkforyou) Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Media & Tourism), Department for Culture, Media & Sport (since 3 Aug 2006). A multi-millionaire by marriage, claimed £20,092 - to the penny, the maximum allowed by Commons authorities - in the last recorded year in 'additional costs allowance' the fund designed to allow MPs to maintain a second home so that they can carry out their parliamentary duties between constituency and Westminster. He was a senior figure in Conservative politics, was director of communications for 1992 victory. He was sacked in 1999 as Conservative London spokesman after refusing to accept the party line on Section 28 and defected to Labour less than three weeks later.

Worked in BBC TV news and current affairs between 1982 and 1991.

IT & e-government
Press & Censorship
Science & sustainable development (green issues)
Broadcasting
Creative industries, including film and music
Tourism
Alcohol & Entertainment Licensing

DRM

No one has explained to him yet that encryption has no effect on copying. Shaun Woodward MP told film executives at an anti-piracy campaign launch October 2006

"But they should pay a premium rate for having it earlier on and it should be encrypted in such a way that it can't be copied."

How ever digitally finger printing the music would have the effect he was looking for. It would not prevent some one from copying but if they did copy they could be traced.

Consultation on the Creative Economy Programme - Open Rights Group Blog post August 12th, 2006

Shaun Woodward, Creative Industries Minister, has launched a consultation on the Creative Economy Programme draft working group proposals. The CEP - a division of the DCMS - was unveiled in November 2005 as "the first step in Government’s desire to make the UK the worlds creative hub."

Their draft recommendations are now open for public comment, so if you have a spare half hour then please drop them a note pointing out your preferences, especially those parts of the documents you don’t agree with.

I particularly welcome the proposal to collect together in one place all publicly owned audio and audiovisual material so that it is easier to find and use.

...

Less sensibly the document goes on to recommend using government money to encourage more businesses to use DRM.

TV Without Frontiers Directive

Joined Lord Currie of Marylebone at a Westminster Media Forum event in criticising the directive. He made a lucid and powerful speech which went down well in the hall.

ZDNet quote Shaun Woodward MP Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism.

"We are completely negative about it," "The more we look at it, it seems a really bad idea. The fundamental flaw is that it probably won't work. I see it doing huge damage to our growth," Woodward continued. "The problem is the absolute lack of clarity."

The Guardian Ofcom warns EC on games regulation September 20, 2006

Ofcom has called for the online games industry to be completely excluded from the European Commission's revised Television Without Frontiers directive. ... The creative industries minister, Shaun Woodward, said it could be "hugely damaging" for the UK in general.

Copyright

Term Extention

House of Commons debate Music Copyright 21 May 2007

... In the course of considering new media, it also examined copyright. It is a complex issue, which has been examined in detail, not least in the Gowers report. Although we will obviously spend the next few weeks considering the Select Committee's recommendations, we are not yet persuaded that extending copyright for performers is in their best interests.

...Let me make two observations. The Select Committee report was not entirely fair to Gowers, who considered more than the economics of the case. He also examined fairness. It might be worth reflecting again on the Gowers report and noting that extending copyright from 50 to 70 years or longer would rarely benefit the musicians. Indeed, the British Phonographic Institute's work through PricewaterhouseCoopers shows that probably less than 1 per cent. would go to those musicians. More significantly, the trade balance would be in deficit because the artists in the United States would benefit from changes to copyright law here, and that would have a disproportionate effect on our artists elsewhere, with their great international reputations.

broadcast rights

Michael Connarty MPWritten answers. 6 July 2006 Culture Media and Sport : Broadcast Rights Payments

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate her Department has made of the lost revenue to UK companies and recording artists from the lack of payments for broadcast rights in the USA; and what estimate has been supplied to her Department by the music industry.

Shaun Woodward

This Department has not made such an estimate. However, the recording industry has estimated that a change in US law in respect of broadcasting rights would enable it to earn additional revenue of approximately £281 million. Furthermore, in 2001 the European Commission estimated that the US Fairness in Music Licensing Act 1998, had cost composers, songwriters and music publishers some $25 million a year in lost royalties.

Piracy

Shaun Woodward MP told film executives at an anti-piracy campaign launch October 2006

"You're going to have to look at release dates in a slightly different way than you have done before."

"You're going to have to look at slightly more ingenious ways of making electronic copies available so that people may actually pay a different price for something that they can download at home, which is just being released in the cinema."

"If they want to watch it at home, then maybe you should make it available to them."

"But they should pay a premium rate for having it earlier on and it should be encrypted in such a way that it can't be copied."

Downloading Films

In a BBC article about the BFI film archive where 230,000 films and 675,000 TV programmes are available. Download costs range from £5 to £12.50.

Film minister Shaun Woodward said the scheme ensured that "vintage and rarely-seen films are now no longer the preserve of the art house cinema-goer". "This is a fantastic resource for the public who will now, more easily, get to see films from a bygone era."

Identity cards

Has a page on his web site supporting the Id Card Cards Bill, many people have used the comments section trying to explain the problems to him.

Long Tail

IPPR/Reuters - The Long Tail: Opportunities in a New Marketplace Open Rights Group blog post

Violent Computer Games

Written answers Shaun Woodward 13 September 2006 Violent Computer Games

A copy of the report was published on the Department's website in February 2006. The researchers found that there was no conclusive evidence of a link between playing computer games that featured violence and violent behaviour in real life.

Internet Service Providers

Written answers John Robertson 7 June 2006 Internet Service Providers

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance her Department has issued to internet service providers on their responsibilities for illegal traffic hosted on their networks.

Shaun Woodward

None. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by my hon. Friend the Minister for Industry and the Regions (Margaret Hodge) on 5 June 2006, Official Report, column 226W.

Maraget Hodge's earlier reply is here

Links

Shaun Woodward MP website
Shaun Woodward MP TheyWorkForYou
Shaun Woodward MP Wikipedia
Voting Record — Shaun Woodward MP, St Helens South
Shaun Woodward MP BBC

News

2007-05-01 - ars technica - UK minister: We need a gaming academy: Author: Nate Anderson; Summary: Shaun Woodward, the UK Minister for Creative Industries & Tourism, has a wide range of duties. He has to oversee the broadcasting industry, tourism, the music business, alcohol licensing, even censorship. But he has also found time to become a spokesman for the burgeoning UK video games industry, which Woodward says is the third largest in the world after the US and Japan. In an interview with the Financial Times this week, Woodward called for the creation of a UK games academy that could train the next generation of developers; without it, he worries that the country will lose its edge in the growing market.

2007-01-04 - The Financial Times - 'Academy for geeks' call to games makers: Author: Jean Eaglesham; Summary: The video-games industry should sponsor an academy to teach geeks the skills they need to operate successfully in the sector, the creative industries minister has -suggested. Shaun Woodward told the Financial Times the "best way for the video games industry to have the talent and the skills it wants is to move into the hot seat itself; to come to the government and say 'we want to put some money into an -academy'."

2006-11-13 - New Statesman - Everyone is a competitor in a global economy: Author: Becky Hogge; Summary: The video games industry is a vital part of the UK’s creative success says Shaun Woodward. ... Too often, he says, problems for creative sectors, such as the music industry’s recent battle with copyright law in the digital age, have been seen as small parts of a complex whole. He sees as “highly symbolic” the Prime Minister’s speech and, earlier in the week, the Chancellor’s mention of the creative industries specifically.

2006-10-13 - Shaun Woodward on BBC Article - Technology 'can beat film piracy': Author: Ian Youngs; Summary: New technology is the key to beating movie piracy, the UK film minister has told industry executives.

2006-09-20 - The Guardian - Ofcom warns EC on games regulation: Author: Leigh Holmwood; Summary: Ofcom has called for the online games industry to be completely excluded from the European Commission's revised Television Without Frontiers directive. ... The creative industries minister, Shaun Woodward, said it could be "hugely damaging" for the UK in general.

2006-09-08 - BBC - BFI expands online film archive: Summary: There are 230,000 films and 675,000 TV programmes in the BFI archive. Download costs range from £5 to £12.50. Film minister Shaun Woodward said the scheme ensured that "vintage and rarely-seen films are now no longer the preserve of the art house cinema-goer". "This is a fantastic resource for the public who will now, more easily, get to see films from a bygone era."

2006-07-22 - The Guardian - Blog standard: Author: Tim Dowling; Summary: Shaun Woodward shaunwoodward.com About Shaun: Former researcher on That's Life, but better known as Labour MP for St Helens South, having defected from the Tory party in 1999. Sampler: "Following my new appointment as creative industries and tourism minister I hope to harness my experience working in broadcasting to understand and promote Britain's outstanding creative industries." Bookmarkability: Yes, for fans of cautious and wordy reiterations of New Labour policy. The fact that he hasn't posted in two months doesn't seem to have caused a major outcry.

2006-06-29 - ZDNet - Government attacks EC's 'dangerous' online media plans: Author: Tom Espiner; Summary: The British Government has launched a fierce attack on the European Commission over proposed legislation that seeks to regulate online content. ... "We are completely negative about it," said Shaun Woodward MP, Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism. "The more we look at it, it seems a really bad idea. The fundamental flaw is that it probably won't work. I see it doing huge damage to our growth," Woodward continued. "The problem is the absolute lack of clarity."

2006-04-30 - The Guardian - He's worth millions. And we're all paying for his London home: Author: Gaby Hinsliff and Conal Walsh; Summary: What many may find a little more startling is the knowledge that the taxpayer is contributing to his desirable lifestyle. Woodward, whose wife Camilla is a scion of the Sainsbury supermarket family, claimed £20,092 - to the penny, the maximum allowed by Commons authorities - in the last recorded year in 'additional costs allowance', the fund designed to allow MPs to maintain a second home so that they can carry out their parliamentary duties between constituency and Westminster.

2004-07-13 - Shaun Woodward MP website - New Statesman New Media Awards: Summary: The website for St Helens South MP Shaun Woodward, www.shaunwoodward.com, has been shortlisted in the New Media Awards 2004 hosted by the New Statesman. The category that Shaun’s site has been entered into is the ‘Elected Representative’ section.