Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of ending the Memorial Grant Scheme on the preservation of local war memorials; how the new £2 million memorial fund compares in scope and accessibility to the previous scheme; and what steps she is taking to ensure that smaller community memorials are not neglected or lost.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Memorial Grant scheme rebates VAT on eligible works to memorials and had a budget of £150,000 in this financial year. No formal assessment has been made of the specific impact of closing the scheme. The new £2 million War Memorial Fund will support the conservation and repair of war memorials across the UK. We are currently working with the National Heritage Memorial Fund and the War Memorials Trust to develop scheme criteria and this will include how to proactively engage local communities with at-risk war memorials.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to recognise the historic contribution of British farmers to the war effort through (a) public commemoration, (b) heritage funding and (c) other methods.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In May, Defra relaunched the Women’s Land Army and Timber Corps Scheme, a civilian veteran service medal scheme recognising those women volunteers who took on roles traditionally done by the men away at war by cultivating crops used to help feed the nation.
We recognise the vital role that farmers play putting food on our plates and caring for our countryside. The Government is committed to supporting British farmers by strengthening food security, increasing farm profitability, and protecting our environment for future generations.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 June 2025 to Question 57634 on World War I and World War II: Women, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to sponsor a memorial for munitions workers in both world wars.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Government recognises the hard work of the Munitions workers and is extremely grateful for their input and sacrifices made during both world wars.
Munitions workers are included on the women's war memorial in Whitehall. In addition, several trees have also been planted at the National Arboretum in Litchfield and many of the former factories have their own small memorials including, ROF Swynnerton, ROF Rotherwas and Aycliffe Newton.
A commemorative badge is available thanks to the support of the BAE Systems Heritage Department and the efforts of the Munitions Workers Association. Surviving munitions workers and their families can approach the Munitions Workers Association to arrange to receive this commemorative badge munitionsworkersassociation@gmail.com
Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) places of worship and (b) religious sites (i) damaged and (ii) destroyed in Ukraine since February 2022; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of contributing to international efforts to (A) restore and (B) protect those sites.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are deeply disturbed by the impact of Russia's illegal war on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB), and the damage done to places of worship and religious significance. As of April 2025, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has verified damage to 149 religious sites. The UK remains committed to the protection of cultural heritage sites jeopardised by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine's reconstruction, starting with early recovery measures, remains a key priority. We have committed up to £283 million in bilateral assistance for 2025/2026 to fund humanitarian, energy, stabilisation, recovery and reconstruction programmes. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) International Cultural Heritage Protection (ICHP) Programme continues to fund protection of cultural heritage. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, DCMS's ICHP has supported Ukraine funded NGO 'Blue Shield' to carry out war-crime investigations, capacity building programmes for the Office of the Prosecutor General and funding the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Heritage Crime Task Force in Ukraine.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect, preserve and improve the condition of war memorials erected in streets, squares and public spaces in the UK.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
War memorials play a very important role in our cultural heritage, holding a deep emotional resonance with people across the country. HM Government will never forget the great bravery, selflessness, and distinction of all the servicemen and women who served their country during times of conflict, and it is only right that appropriate steps be taken to protect the many war memorials that honour those who gave their lives in that service.
The safety and protection of war memorials falls to local authorities and local constabularies, in consultation with the owners of the memorials.
The primary role for my Department regarding war memorials is managing the DCMS Memorial Grant Scheme, which makes grants towards the VAT incurred by charities and faith groups in the construction, repair, and maintenance of public memorial structures, including war memorials. The scheme has a fixed budget of £400,000 per annum for this spending review period.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has made an assessment of the scale of destruction of religious heritage as a result of the Israel-Hamas war.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell
We want to see Israel take greater care to limit its operations to military targets. We want to see Israel using all possible measures to protect the sanctity of holy sites. The UK is a strong supporter of Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) and calls for places of worship to be respected.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to identify (a) stolen and (b) confiscated (i) treasures, (ii) art and (iii) other cultural assets that were lost during the Second World War.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The UK has endorsed the Washington Principles on Nazi-confiscated art, which include identifying looted art and establishing mechanisms to consider claims for its return. Our national museums have undertaken detailed research of their collections to identify objects with uncertain provenance between the years 1933–45. The results have been published in a fully searchable spoliation database which is regularly updated.
HM Government has also established the Spoliation Advisory Panel which advises on claims for the return of cultural objects lost during the German Third Reich and which are now in UK collections. The Panel currently holds the Presidency of the Network of Restitution Committees on Nazi-looted art which works to increase the effectiveness of provenance research and the sharing of information on Nazi-looted art, in the spirit of the Washington Declaration.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of housing asylum seekers at RAF Scrampton on historical buildings at that site.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
RAF Scampton played a vital role in the Second World War and the Home Office has been clear that we will preserve and enhance the heritage feature of Scampton.
We have undertaken significant engagement with Historic England and will create an Operational Management Plan (OMP) which will set out clear actions and responsibilities to protect the heritage assets at RAF Scampton. A regularly updated Factsheet on RAF Scampton can be found at Factsheet: RAF Scampton asylum accommodation (accessible) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to paragraph 21 of Annex A of the New Decade, New Approach Deal, published in January 2020, how they have ensured that the work of the War Memorials Trust has been better promoted and understood in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Lord Caine - Shadow Minister (Northern Ireland)
Officials have been engaging with the Department of Communities in order to ensure that our work on this commitment both complements the Department’s strategic approach and existing policies on built heritage in Northern Ireland, and is proportional to current pressures on public spending.
Asked by: Gareth Johnson (Conservative - Dartford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to commemorate Second World War evacuees.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Government supports the commemoration of Second World War evacuees through the work of public bodies of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, including the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Since 1994, the National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded 120 grants, totalling £1,088,450, to projects across 95 local authorities that are specifically related to Second World War Evacuee activities. The Heritage Fund also works with museums, libraries and archives across the UK, funding a range of history-related projects, some of which will also go towards commemorating Second World War evacuees.
The Department also directly sponsors Imperial War Museums, one of our national museums devoted to highlighting the stories and experiences of the Second World War, and evacuees.