Introduction and the Import of Cultural Goods (Revocation) Regulations 2021

Baroness Merron Excerpts

Wednesday 30th June 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction to this SI. I have taken careful note, as I am sure he has, of the contributions from my noble friend Lord Stevenson and the noble Lords, Lord German and Lord Clement-Jones, who brought their collective attention to this matter. I have a sense of foreboding that the Minister may regret introducing this short statutory instrument by suggesting that it is simply a matter for clarification, as it seems to have required yet further clarification in the course of this debate.

This is a short statutory instrument—the main provision is one sentence long—but it sends a worrying signal to those who are concerned about the protection of items of cultural significance. We are grateful to the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee for recommending that this SI was upgraded from the negative procedure to the affirmative, and for the additional information provided in its fourth report of the Session.

DCMS insists that this instrument is merely an exercise in tidying up the statute book, but, as the SLSC noted, the department’s decision will give many a perception that the UK is watering down its protections for cultural goods that have been stolen, looted and/or unlawfully exported from other countries. That is not the message that this Government should be sending.

This is undoubtedly a highly emotive subject. It is also a live one. In recent weeks, we have seen the case of a British auction house removing two looted Ethiopian objects from sale, following an intervention by that country’s embassy. Elsewhere, in Italy, authorities recently recovered what has been described as an “archaeological treasure trove” of almost 800 stolen artefacts from Belgium. I am sure we all agree that it is a tragedy that criminals commit these acts, but for as long as that occurs, we have to ensure we have the appropriate protections in place.

The Explanatory Memorandum helpfully lists a number of the statutory provisions and international conventions that the UK has or is party to, but can the Minister outline what steps are being taken to keep them under review? As with other areas of crime, there is a worry that the trade of stolen cultural items is increasingly taking place online, and potentially through platforms on the dark web. Is the Minister able to comment on this trend and the steps that his department is taking in response to it? Can the Minister comment on how he feels the current system is working and how well our domestic rules are doing?

Finally, in response to the disruption of trade flows following the end of the transition period, HMRC waived administrative requirements on certain imports and exports. In doing so, it conceded the risk of security issues at the border. Last week, the noble Lord, Lord Agnew, committed to write to my noble friend Lord Tunnicliffe on this issue. However, until then, is the Minister able to say whether these temporary waivers could have inadvertently aided those seeking to get cultural items into or out of the country? I look forward to the Minister’s response on these points and the other points that were raised during the course of the debate.