Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the potential loss of value that will be experienced by UK owners of legitimately acquired sculpted ivory as a result of the proposed ban on the sale of such items; and what plans they have to compensate the owners of such items for any loss of value which they experience.

Through our public consultation we have sought views and evidence on the effect of the proposed ban on UK ivory sales, including on those individuals who own ivory; how the ban could be enforced; and the proposed scope of carefully targeted exemptions.

The consultation invited views on a possible exemption for items of genuine artistic, cultural or historic value. Items in this category could be exempted from a ban because their value lies in their artistry, cultural significance or historic provenance, as opposed to their ivory content. The consultation made clear that any exemption of this kind would need to be strictly defined to include only the rarest and most important items.

The consultation ended on 29 December 2017 and responses are currently being analysed, including any evidence provided on these issues. This analysis will inform our policy development and we will publish a response shortly. Until these results are analysed, the department has not arrived at a view concerning compensation.