Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether officials in her Department have had discussions with representatives of UK cultural bodies on the potential support they can give their Ukrainian counterparts to help protect Ukrainian cultural heritage during the Russian invasion of that country.

Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, DCMS Ministers and officials have been in regular contact with their Ukrainian counterparts, international partners and UK cultural institutions regarding the protection of Ukrainian cultural heritage. The UK is currently providing financial support through DCMS’s flagship Cultural Protection Fund, a partnership with the British Council. This covers among other activities the documentation of damage to cultural heritage, safeguarding Ukraine’s cultural heritage in-situ, and supporting Ukrainian artists and cultural practitioners.

DCMS officials are also working across Government to ensure that cultural heritage protection is integrated into all relevant apparatus around war crimes. Officials are examining how to support baseline evidence collection on cultural heritage destruction in Ukraine, as well as developing longer-term approaches.