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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effect the restrictions on antique ivory sales coming into effect on 1 June will have on the market for portrait miniatures; and what plans they have to consider (1) reducing, or (2) dropping, the £50 fee for exempting items like portrait miniatures to ensure the sale of such items remains economic.

The Government published an impact assessment for the Ivory Act when the legislation was introduced as a Bill in May 2018.

The registration fee for items that fall under a section 10 exemption, which includes pre-1918 portrait miniatures that have a surface area of no more than 320cm², is £20 per registration. Groups of three to twenty portrait miniatures that meet the requirement of the exemption and are being dealt as part of a single transaction may be registered together for a fee of £50. The fees have been set at a manageable level to encourage compliance and meet the principle that costs should not be borne by the taxpayer. We will keep the fees under review.