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Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Bill

The Government have been pleased to support this Bill, which, gladly, has enjoyed a quick and smooth passage through the House. This is due in no small part to the expert handling of it by my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore), and to what he has rightly described as a friendly consensus between the parties. Like him, I welcome that. The Bill is a short and carefully balanced measure that will rectify an anomaly in the way that national museums are able to deal with claims for the return of items lost during the Nazi era. Most importantly, it does not override the fundamental principle, supported by successive Governments, that the trustees of museums and galleries are the rightful guardians of our national collections and that they should be responsible for taking decisions about items in their care. The final decision on whether to transfer an item from a museum's collection will continue to be taken by museum trustees where the two conditions that trigger the power to de-accession are met: that the Spoliation Advisory Panel has recommended the return of the item and that Ministers have agreed. Museum trustees should not have an unfettered power of disposal, however. The Government remain absolutely committed to protecting our national collections and will resist all attempts to see them broken up. The power to de-accession human remains that was given to museums in 2005, and the measures we are discussing here in the Bill, recognise that these are very special cases that warrant particular attention. Members have thus rightly stated that it is important that the matter is approached in a balanced way, and I think we have managed to achieve that. We have worked closely with my hon. Friend to get the Bill to this stage and, as part of that work, we have considered its compatibility with the Human Rights Act 1998. Gladly, we are satisfied that it is fully compatible. Although this is a small and simple measure, we should not underestimate its importance. Throughout the second world war, the lives of millions of people were affected by the systematic campaign by the Nazis to wipe out whole peoples and their cultures. Part of that campaign was the looting of cultural treasures from both public and private collections, with many families being forced to give up prized possessions and heirlooms with little or no compensation. A tremendous effort to recover this looted art was made in the immediate aftermath of the second world war through the dedicated work of the "Monuments Men", a tiny band of 350 art historians, museum curators and professors. In May 1945, they began the work of finding, securing and returning the millions of pieces of art, sculpture, books, jewellery, furniture, tapestries and other cultural treasures looted, lost or displaced in the years of upheaval. In 2000, the United Kingdom set up the Spoliation Advisory Panel. This has gone on to become a widely recognised and respected source of advice around the world. I should pause here to correct a statement I made in Committee. My hon. Friend was indeed right in saying that the Dutch restitution committee, which was modelled on the UK panel, is still accepting claims. While on the subject of international relations, I would also like to mention that the UK is represented at the conference on holocaust era assets, which is currently taking place in the Czech Republic. I am very glad that Lord Janner, who has done so much to bring this issue to the fore, is part of the UK delegation. The conference will be looking at a number of issues concerning the fate of holocaust survivors and of Jewish property confiscated during the war, and it will be seeking to increase international efforts in this area. In Committee, my hon. Friend said that he had discussed the case of the Beneventan missal with the British Library and the effect of the Bill on earlier cases considered by the Spoliation Advisory Panel where return was recommended but was not possible because of statutory restrictions on disposal. Let me clarify that the power in the Bill will not be retrospective. If, after the Bill comes into force, a further claim is made for an item that the panel has already considered, it will be up to trustees of the institution concerned to decide whether once again to refer the claim to the panel. The panel would then decide whether to look at the claim again. If, after considering the new claim, the panel recommended the return of the item, the trustees would have the power to return the object. Where an ex-gratia payment had been made to the claimant on the first referral, this would need to be returned. Let us review what the Bill will achieve. It will give the trustees of the bodies named in the Bill an additional power to transfer objects from their collection where the transfer is recommended by the designated panel and where that recommendation is approved by the Secretary of State, and Scottish Ministers in the case of an item in the Scottish national collections. As I said in Committee, the intention is to designate the Spoliation Advisory Panel. The Act will expire 10 years after the day on which it is passed. Questions were raised on Second Reading about the tax implications of the Bill. The Treasury is looking into this and will consider whether any tax rules need changing as a result of these measures. I am pleased to be able to announce that the Scottish Parliament yesterday passed the legislative consent motion in order that the Bill might apply to Scotland. A number of amendments to the Bill were also made in Committee and it may be helpful if I summarise the main changes. The bodies to which the Bill applies are now found in clause 1. The power to return victims' property is set out in a new clause 2. This might be an appropriate moment to provide further clarification on the point raised by the hon. Member for Wantage (Mr. Vaizey) about whether the term "cultural object" needs to be defined in the Bill. Although the Bill as introduced included such a definition, it has been substantially amended, with the able assistance of parliamentary counsel, and I can now say that the Bill as amended does not need to define a "cultural object". The Bill gives trustees a power to return any object which is in the collection for which the trustees are responsible where the two conditions are met, and we believe this is sufficient. The new clause 3 defines the advisory panel for the purposes of the Act. The panel is to be designated by the Secretary of State and he may designate only a panel whose functions consist of considering claims relating to events occurring during the Nazi era of 1933 to 1945. Clause 4 deals with the short title, extent, commencement and sunset clause. Provision was also made for the Bill to extend to England and Wales and Scotland, although the power is not needed for museums in Wales. The short and long title of the Bill have been amended. The original reference to "stolen art" was too restrictive and does not reflect the many ways in which people were deprived of their property. The Spoliation Advisory Panel's terms of reference do not define the circumstances of loss and do not therefore limit its consideration to items that were stolen. The new long title better describes the Bill's purpose, which is to give the trustees of named bodies an additional power to transfer cultural objects in their collections. This concludes the consideration of amendments made in Committee, and I should like to end by thanking my predecessor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking (Margaret Hodge), for the work she did on the Bill, by thanking the officials who have worked very hard with my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon, and by once again congratulating him. This is a real achievement, and the Bill is in excellent shape going forward. I hope that it receives wide support in the other place.