Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk that ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage will promote social fragmentation rather than social cohesion.

HM Government aims to use the ratification of the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage to create a discussion about the role that living heritage of all sorts plays in the identity, pride and cohesion of all parts of the UK. To support this, we are taking an inclusive approach to the ratification and seeking to ensure as many people and groups as possible can be involved, which has included launching a public consultation on details of the ratification.