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 - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
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 - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
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.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what museums are prevented by statute from deaccessioning objects in their collections; and whether she plans to extend those statutes to other institutions.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Some national museums are prevented by law from ‘deaccessioning’ objects in their collections unless, broadly, they are duplicates or unfit for retention. The two exceptions to this are human remains (less than 1,000 years old) and Nazi-era spoliation.
The Acts governing the national museums which have provisions prohibiting the trustees of the museums from disposing of items in their collection are listed below. The provisions are explicit and specific, setting out limited scenarios where disposal would be permitted. The Government has no plans to change these Acts.
Governing Legislation | Organisation |
British Museum Act 1963 | British Museum National History Museum |
British Library Act 1972 | British Library |
National Heritage Act 1983 | Victoria and Albert Museum Science Museum Royal Armouries Kew Gardens |
Merseyside Museums and Galleries Order 1986 | National Museums Liverpool |
Museums and Galleries Act 1992 | Tate National Portrait Gallery National Gallery Wallace Collection |
Imperial War Museum Act 1920 | Imperial War Museum |
National Maritime Museum Act 1934 | Royal Museum Greenwich (National Maritime Museum) |
Asked by: Lord West of Spithead (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord True on 28 April (HL7898), whether the Government Property Agency has received the list of works needed on the Royal Naval Division war memorial from Heritage England; if not, why not; and whether they have been hastened.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Remedial work has started and is ongoing. As our partners undertake remedial works, they have uncovered further defects and are continuing to carry out a full internal repair of the fountain and its pump system. Due to the location of the fountain, works were halted during the period of mourning, but have now resumed within the secure zone.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing dedicated financial support programs for cultural activities undertaken by Ukrainian refugees to protect Ukrainian cultural heritage.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
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.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.
Asked by: Drew Hendry (Scottish National Party - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with her Ukrainian counterpart on providing support for the cataloguing of Ukrainian cultural artefacts which have been damaged or lost during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
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.