Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 22 June (HL Deb col 329) concerning the proposed Holocaust memorial, whether they will clarify what was meant by the statement that "The view of Parliament from the memorial will serve as a permanent reminder that political decisions have far-reaching consequences".

Detailed information on the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre published as part of the planning application includes an assessment of the significance of the chosen location (see especially the proof of evidence of the UK Holocaust Memorial co-chairs (document cd 8.1) and the assessment of alternative sites (see environmental statement volume 2 revised chapter 4 (cd 6.49)). The information remains available on Westminster City Council’s website.

In addition to the planning application information, the answers I provided on 12 April 2023 (HL6914) and 5 May (HL7432) provide detailed figures on the areas used for the proposed development. For clarity, the figure of approximately 7.5% relates to the total area of Victoria Tower Gardens and the figure of around 85% relates to the area of green space at Victoria Tower Gardens.