Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department last met the architect named as leading the design team for the new national landmark next to the Houses of Parliament in the press notice issued by the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation and the Cabinet Office published on 24 October 2017.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
There have been no officials meetings with ministers from this department. Officials last met on 21 February 2023.
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department last met the architect named as leading the design team for the new national landmark next to the Houses of Parliament in the press notice issued by the UK Holocaust Memorial Foundation and the Cabinet Office published on 24 October 2017.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
There have been no officials meetings with ministers from this department. Officials last met on 21 February 2023.
Asked by: Peter Bottomley (Conservative - Worthing West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will erect temporary scaffolding in Victoria Tower Gardens to demonstrate the proposed size of the Holocaust Memorial.
Answered by Simon Hoare - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Detailed images showing the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens were considered at the planning inquiry in 2020 and are available on the Westminster City Council website: Inquiry documents | Westminster City Council.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what response they made to the request by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee that the plan to build a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens on the Westminster World Heritage site be abandoned; and what discussions they had with the World Heritage Committee at its meeting in 2023 about that matter.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government noted that the independent planning inspector concluded, following an extensive public inquiry in 2020, that “…the proposed UKHMLC would not result in compromise to the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site because it does not harm it or its setting, thus conserving it”. DCMS, acting as State Party to the World Heritage Convention, will continue to keep UNESCO updated.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government for what reasons the planned construction of a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens has not resulted in the gardens and the Buxton Memorial being placed on Historic England's Heritage at Risk Register; and whether they will request that they be so placed.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Heritage assets may be added to Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register for a variety of reasons, such as poor condition, disuse, and, in some cases, the quantifiable risks of development. Historic England has not made an assessment of the potential risks to Victoria Tower Gardens since the Holocaust Memorial Bill is still under consideration. It will continue to monitor the situation and keep its position under regular review.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the speech by the then Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, on Holocaust Memorial Day, 23 January 2017, whether they still recognise the atrocities in Darfur in 2003 as a genocide
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is not for the Government to recognise the atrocities in Darfur as a genocide. The UK's longstanding position is that determining whether a situation amounts to genocide is an issue for competent national and international courts after consideration of all of the available evidence, rather than a decision by governments or non-judicial parties.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what options they are considering for the future management of the parts of Victoria Tower Gardens which will not be occupied by the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Decisions on the future management arrangements for Victoria Tower Gardens will be agreed in good time before the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre opens.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements, if any, they have made to transfer control of all or part of Victoria Tower Gardens to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, or another department, to enable the planned construction of a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre; and whether they intend to attach conditions to such a transfer to safeguard the interests of the Gardens' current users.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Government’s aim, as part of the programme to establish the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre, is to enhance Victoria Tower Gardens so that they can continue to be appreciated by everyone living in, working in or visiting the area. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are discussing the arrangements which can best ensure safe and efficient construction while maintaining access to the Gardens. Those arrangements may include transfer of title for part of the gardens, especially in order to provide a suitably long lease for the Memorial and Learning Centre.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what changes they are planning in the future funding of Royal Parks to reflect the use of part of Victoria Tower Gardens for a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre will be managed and funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, which will also take responsibility for the management of the relevant parts of Victoria Tower Gardens needed for the duration of the construction period. It is not therefore proposed to make any changes to the funding provided by HM Government to The Royal Parks.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government which department or other organisation will have responsibility for the maintenance of the Buxton Memorial following the planned construction of a Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Royal Parks will continue to have responsibility for the maintenance of the Buxton Memorial Fountain in Victoria Tower Gardens, which commemorates the Parliamentary campaign to abolish the slave trade, and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will continue to have Departmental responsibility for it.