Clause 1
Holocaust (Stolen Art) Restitution Bill
9:30 am
Barbara Follett (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Culture), Department for Culture, Media & Sport; Stevenage, Labour)
The Government support the insertion of new clauses 1 and 2. New clause 1 sets out the two conditions that need to be met to trigger the power for the trustees of one of the named institutions to transfer an object from its collections. Those are, first, that the advisory panel recommends the transfer and, secondly, that the Secretary of State approves that recommendation.
To avoid any doubt, I clarify that museum trustees will continue to take decisions on whether or not to return an object. That is in keeping with the arm’s-length principle that recognises that trustees are responsible for the items in their care. It is not for the Government to tell them what to do with them. The current arrangement for the consideration of claims and the decision-making process, including the approval of the panel’s reports by the Secretary of State, works well. The two conditions that must be met to trigger the trustees’ power to return an object reflect the existing arrangements for handling the reports of the Spoliation Advisory Panel. It is right to include the requirement that the Secretary of State approve the panel’s recommendation because it reflects current practice and provides a safeguard in the unlikely event of an irrational recommendation by the panel. It is not, however, the Government’s intention to tell museum trustees what to do. This clause is about giving trustees the power to decide to return an object if the two conditions are met, in the same way that regional and local museums are able to support the return of an object in such circumstances.
The Government also support new clause 2, which defines an advisory panel for the purposes of this Act. The panel is to be designated by the Secretary of State, and he may only designate a panel whose functions consist of considering claims relating to events occurring during the Nazi era; in other words, between 1933 and 1945. That reflects the terms of reference of the Spoliation Advisory Panel because, as I have explained, the purpose of the Bill is straightforward: to give trustees of the named institutions a power to return an object where the trustees decide to do so, in response to a recommendation by the designated panel which has been approved by the Secretary of State. As my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon said, tax issues can, if necessary, be dealt with separately by the Treasury.