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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, for what reasons the Government decided that the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre should not be located at the Imperial War Museum.

During the course of 2015, the organisations referred to in the answer to Question UIN 106180 assisted the United Kingdom Holocaust Memorial Fund (UKHMF) in identifying possible locations. This helped UKHMF to consider almost 50 sites, including Victoria Tower Gardens and the Imperial War Museum.

On the advice of UKHMF the Government decided that Victoria Tower Gardens was the most fitting of all the sites considered. This decision received wide-ranging support, including from The Royal Parks, which, as noted in the answer to Question UIN 106181, was first consulted in December 2015.

By placing the story of the Holocaust next to our Parliament, our country will make a powerful statement about our own democracy and its values, reminding us what can happen when hatred is left unchecked.