Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has for schools to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
All schools are encouraged to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education wrote to schools in 2025 highlighting the importance of commemorating Holocaust Memorial Day. The annual marking of Holocaust Memorial Day is an important moment in the calendar where we remember the six million Jewish men, women and children killed by the Nazis and the millions more murdered under Nazi persecution.
The Holocaust is the only historic event which is compulsory within the current national curriculum for history at key stage 3. The government has made a commitment that the Holocaust will remain a compulsory topic in the reformed national curriculum, which will also be required teaching in academy schools when it is implemented.
The department actively supports schools to provide high quality teaching on the Holocaust through University College London Centre for Holocaust Education’s continuous professional development work, and through the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz’s programme. In addition, the Supporting Holocaust Survivor Testimony in Teaching programme will support schools in using recorded Holocaust survivor testimony in their teaching.
Asked by: Lord Jamieson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the guidance Holocaust Memorial: handling arrangements for planning casework, published on 5 November, and Entertainment Resort Complex, Bedford: Handling Arrangements, published on 17 October, whether they will place in the Library of the House a copy of the handling arrangements for the planning casework of the Chinese Embassy application at the Royal Mint.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In dealing with any planning casework, Ministers and officials will always act in accordance with published propriety guidance on planning casework decisions, which is available on gov.uk (attached) here.
Handling arrangements are published where they are required in specific cases to ensure that Ministers or officials with any role in promoting planning proposals are explicitly excluded from the planning decision-making process. That does not apply in the case of the application for the Royal Mint Court.
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what governance arrangements his Department has considered for the future Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are considering a range of operating models for the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre and will ensure that there are robust governance arrangements in place which are appropriate to the chosen model.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, which Minister would be responsible for the planning decision regarding the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre following the passage of the Holocaust Memorial Bill.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Arrangements for handling of the planning application for the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre are publicly available on gov.uk here.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the data tables accompanying the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority Annual Report 2024-25, published on 11 August 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the rating of the UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre programme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The UK Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre Programme was rated as Red following a High Court case in 2022 and the loss of planning consent. The Holocaust Memorial Bill, currently before Parliament, will address the statutory obstacle identified by the High Court.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will list the titles of all the events organised by Civil Service networks in her Department since 2017.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The department does not hold a comprehensive record of all events organised by Civil Service networks since 2017. However, we are able to provide a list of Civil Service network events that were advertised within the department from 2020 onwards. It is important to note that whilst these events were shared with staff, we cannot confirm whether they were organised by departmental colleagues as part of their participation in cross-Civil Service networks, or whether they were arranged independently by the networks and simply shared with departmental colleagues.
The following events were advertised within the department:
Asked by: Rachel Blake (Labour (Co-op) - Cities of London and Westminster)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is planning to take to ensure that local residents are (a) informed and (b) consulted during the Holocaust Memorial Learning Centre (Victoria Tower Gardens) planning approval process.
Answered by Jim McMahon
Decisions on the redetermination procedure for this application, and any necessary consultation and engagement with local residents, have not yet been taken.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Civil Service 2024/2025 External Expenditure on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion of 30 May 2025, if he will list (a) the suppliers and (b) a breakdown of the expenditure related to the £3,779 of expenditure on (i) LGBT+ and (ii) Humanists’ Convention.
Answered by Feryal Clark
See below the suppliers and a breakdown on the expenditure requested:
| Description | Spend | Supplier |
| Carers UK Membership | £2,500 | Carers UK |
| Rainbow Flag | £350 | This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost to the department |
| Rainbow Pins | £225 | This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost to the department |
| Catering for Ramadan Event | £400 | This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost to the department |
| Holocaust Memorial Day event (train ticket for Speaker) | £160 | Train Ticket Reimbursed to an External Speaker |
| Humanists Convention | £144 | Humanists UK |
Asked by: Lord Shinkwin (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what commemorative (1) days, (2) weeks, and (3) months, are recognised by (a) the Department of Health and Social Care, and (b) NHS England, as significant for diversity and inclusion, excluding religious holidays.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold an official list of approved commemorative days, weeks, or months. We follow direction from Cabinet Office on important national days to be marked across the Civil Service. All other commemorative days, weeks, or months are considered on a case- by-case basis in discussion with our staff networks and senior sponsors. Efforts are made to align any commemorative events to departmental priorities, and to include a health and social care angle to broaden the reach of the activity and deepen departmental understanding of how we are making a difference in our communities. Examples of commemorative events the Department has marked to date include Holocaust Memorial Day, Mental Health Awareness Week, Veterans Day, Pride Month, Black History Month, Cancer Awareness Days, Carers Day, and Social Mobility Day.
The Department will continue to be led by Cabinet Office steers and by the recommendations of our staff networks and leadership, and will try and leverage commemoration days to deepen our organisational knowledge of health and care issues and the communities we serve.
NHS England acknowledges a range of significant commemorative days and events that align with their organisational priorities and help them fulfil their Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010. While they engage with a broad spectrum of important health awareness and equality-related events, there is no formalised schedule or overarching programme in place.
Some of the commemorative days and events NHS England has recognised to date include VE Day, Mental Health Awareness Week, Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week, International Women’s Day, Bowel Cancer Awareness Day, Ovarian Cancer Awareness Day, Black History Month, International Nurses Day, and Holocaust Memorial Day.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what authority The Royal Parks closed Victoria Tower Gardens on 23 April for the 80th Anniversary National Holocaust Commemoration.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Access and usage of Victoria Tower Gardens is managed by the Royal Parks under its Contract for Services with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. We do not have any plans to restrict future closures of Victoria Tower Gardens.
Holocaust commemoration events have historically been held at the existing Holocaust Memorial in Hyde Park. Further to the previous agreement to use Victoria Tower Gardens for the Yom HaShoah commemorations in 2024, the Royal Parks sought the department’s views on the continued use of the Gardens on behalf of the event organisers. DCMS agreed to the continued use of Victoria Tower Gardens for commemoration of the 80th Anniversary National Holocaust Commemoration, Yom HaShoah, on 23rd April 2025.