Asked by: Earl of Sandwich (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the proposed Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens will affect the Buxton anti-slavery memorial location, in terms of (1) physical distance, (2) daylight, and (3) visitor numbers; and what research, if any, has been carried out by planners to obtain these answers.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Landscape improvements as part of the proposed Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens are intended to enhance the opportunity to appreciate the significance of the Buxton Memorial. Full details of the assessed impact on the Buxton Memorial are included in the planning application, especially the Environmental Statement, which remains available on Westminster City Council’s website.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 22 June (HL Deb col 329) concerning the proposed Holocaust memorial, whether they will clarify what was meant by the statement that "The view of Parliament from the memorial will serve as a permanent reminder that political decisions have far-reaching consequences".
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Detailed information on the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre published as part of the planning application includes an assessment of the significance of the chosen location (see especially the proof of evidence of the UK Holocaust Memorial co-chairs (document cd 8.1) and the assessment of alternative sites (see environmental statement volume 2 revised chapter 4 (cd 6.49)). The information remains available on Westminster City Council’s website.
In addition to the planning application information, the answers I provided on 12 April 2023 (HL6914) and 5 May (HL7432) provide detailed figures on the areas used for the proposed development. For clarity, the figure of approximately 7.5% relates to the total area of Victoria Tower Gardens and the figure of around 85% relates to the area of green space at Victoria Tower Gardens.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 22 June (HL Deb col 328) that the proposed design for a Holocaust memorial “uses approximately 7.5 per cent of the area of Victoria Tower Gardens”, and the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government) on 4 July 2019 (HC270274), which refers to around 85 per cent of green space being retained, whether they will clarify the amount of green space that would be lost; and what assessment they have made of the calculation by the London Historic Parks & Gardens Trust that 29.6 per cent of the green space, excluding the mound, would be lost.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Detailed information on the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre published as part of the planning application includes an assessment of the significance of the chosen location (see especially the proof of evidence of the UK Holocaust Memorial co-chairs (document cd 8.1) and the assessment of alternative sites (see environmental statement volume 2 revised chapter 4 (cd 6.49)). The information remains available on Westminster City Council’s website.
In addition to the planning application information, the answers I provided on 12 April 2023 (HL6914) and 5 May (HL7432) provide detailed figures on the areas used for the proposed development. For clarity, the figure of approximately 7.5% relates to the total area of Victoria Tower Gardens and the figure of around 85% relates to the area of green space at Victoria Tower Gardens.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 22 June (HL Deb col 328), in relation to the consideration of alternative sites for a Holocaust memorial, that “all that work was done many years ago”, whether they intend to publish their assessment of sites alternative to Victoria Tower Gardens.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Detailed information on the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre published as part of the planning application includes an assessment of the significance of the chosen location (see especially the proof of evidence of the UK Holocaust Memorial co-chairs (document cd 8.1) and the assessment of alternative sites (see environmental statement volume 2 revised chapter 4 (cd 6.49)). The information remains available on Westminster City Council’s website.
In addition to the planning application information, the answers I provided on 12 April 2023 (HL6914) and 5 May (HL7432) provide detailed figures on the areas used for the proposed development. For clarity, the figure of approximately 7.5% relates to the total area of Victoria Tower Gardens and the figure of around 85% relates to the area of green space at Victoria Tower Gardens.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government for what reasons they support the commemoration of the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime against people of Jewish origin and others in Victoria Tower Gardens, to the exclusion of other genocides and other available sites.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Victoria Tower Gardens was chosen as the most fitting site in terms of its historical, emotional, and political significance and its ability to offer the greatest potential impact and visibility for the project. The planned Holocaust Memorial will commemorate the six million Jewish people and all victims of Nazi persecution, and the accompanying learning centre will address subsequent genocides.
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, what the earliest estimated date is for the completion of the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Subject to approval of the Holocaust Memorial Bill, and to obtaining planning consent when the designated Minister re-takes the decision, we aim to open in 2027.
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, whether he has visited the Imperial War Museum (IWM) Holocaust Galleries; and whether he has been briefed on the IWM Learning Programmes.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Minister with responsibility for the Holocaust Memorial, Baroness Scott of Bybrook, has visited the Holocaust Galleries and been briefed about the Imperial War Museum's work.
The Government has spent £17.8 million on the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre. Details of any future spend will be set out in the usual way.
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 make an estimate of the (a) duration and (b) cost of holding a competition for designing a Holocaust memorial in (i) Parliament Square, (ii) Abingdon Gardens and (iii) at the north end of Victoria Tower Gardens that would be opened within two years.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Minister with responsibility for the Holocaust Memorial, Baroness Scott of Bybrook, has visited the Holocaust Galleries and been briefed about the Imperial War Museum's work.
The Government has spent £17.8 million on the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre. Details of any future spend will be set out in the usual way.
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, how much has been (a) spent and (b) committed by (i) the Government and (ii) Government agencies to the proposal for a National Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre.
Answered by Felicity Buchan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Minister with responsibility for the Holocaust Memorial, Baroness Scott of Bybrook, has visited the Holocaust Galleries and been briefed about the Imperial War Museum's work.
The Government has spent £17.8 million on the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre. Details of any future spend will be set out in the usual way.
Asked by: Baroness Deech (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) for the contents of the Learning Centre to be attached to the UK Holocaust Memorial, and (2) to specify the populations whose genocides are to be commemorated therein.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The main focus of the Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre's exhibition content is to ensure that the story of what happened during the unique events of the Holocaust resonates with the public. This will include raising questions about Britain's role at the time. The content will also address genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.