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

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they have not ratified the UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

It is necessary to carefully prioritise resources towards those Conventions that will have the most impact on the safeguarding of our heritage, such as the recent final steps taken towards ratification of the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property. However, the Government fully recognises the contribution that the UK’s oral traditions, social practices and festive events make to the country’s cultural fabric, and continues to encourage communities to celebrate these practices and to continue them for future generations. A particularly notable example of research into this area has recently been undertaken by Museums Galleries Scotland, as their project to record and map the intangible cultural heritage of Scotland has identified an impressive breadth and variety of practices.