The history curriculum includes a statutory time period at key stage 3 titled “ideas, political power, industry and empire: Britain, 1745-1901” which includes the non-statutory example of Britain’s transatlantic slave trade. Due to the flexibility of the history curriculum, these topics can also be taught, where relevant, across the three key stages.

Schools can access resources from bodies such as Oak National Academy, the Historical Association and others to ensure their teaching is accurate and thorough.

In reforming the curriculum following the Curriculum and Assessment Review, we are clear that all pupils should have a robust understanding of our nation’s history.

We fully recognise the horrific impacts and the understandable, ongoing, strength of feeling on the transatlantic slave trade across communities in the UK and the Commonwealth family. Ministers have had no discussions with Commonwealth counterparts focused on reparatory justice since July 2024, and none are foreseen. If interlocutors raise reparatory justice, we make clear our position that we do not pay reparations. We are focused on working with Commonwealth partners to tackle the most pressing challenges of today including security, growth and climate change and building partnerships for the future.

The Department borrows art from the Government Art Collection and does not own artwork. As separate legal entities, the responsibility for creating policy and guidance for artwork sits with each individual Arm’s Length Body, rather than with the Department. NHS England does not have a national policy on artwork and heritage assets.

A Freedom of Information request was submitted to the Home Office on 22 October on this matter.

We will be happy to share a copy of the response to that request with the Hon. Gentleman once it has been published to the requester.

While the Hon. Gentlemen is welcome to put forward his proposals on this matter, our immediate priorities remain the protection of national security, the restoration of neighbourhood policing, tackling the smuggling gangs responsible for small boat crossings,and clearing up the chaos left by the previous government.

The UK greatly values our strong and longstanding relationship with the Caribbean and CARICOM. We most recently showed our solidarity through support to the regional response to Hurricane Beryl. The Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean, Baroness Chapman of Darlington, looks forward to deep engagement with the leaders and peoples of these countries and to full and frank discussions with them on all issues of concern. Our government will prioritise supporting the resilience and prosperity of vulnerable islands. We are making a real difference to the lives of people today - including in the Caribbean - where we are investing in infrastructure, security, and prosperity, and helping build resilience to natural disasters and climate change.

These terms are used across a range of research areas and have different meanings, from the humanities and societal sciences, to biological sciences and microbial research.

The following data is sourced from Gateway to Research (https://gtr.ukri.org/), which supplies information about research and innovation projects and organisations funded by UKRI.

Of approximately 37,000 active projects initiated from 2019 onwards: 77 had titles referring to ‘Decolonisation/Decolonising’, 12 had titles referring to ‘Colonialism’ and 61 had titles mentioning the word ‘Colonial’.

No, what I think our focus should now be on doing, while of course understanding our history in all its parts and not running away from it, is making sure that we have a society that is inclusive and tolerant of people from all backgrounds. That is something that we on the Government Benches are committed to doing and will continue to deliver, but trying to unpick our history is not the right way forward and is not something we will focus our energies on.

Q7

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Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Streatham) (Lab):

This month marks 23 years since the passing of the late, great Bernie Grant, a former Member of this House and the founder of the reparations movement in the UK. In the last Prime Minister’s questions before his death, he asked for an apology to the people of African descent, living and dead, for our country’s role in slavery and colonialism, but since then Prime Ministers and Heads of State have only ever expressed sorrow or deep regret—not sentiments befitting one of the greatest atrocities in human history—and there has been no acknowledgment of the wealth amassed or of the fact that our country took out its largest ever loan to pay off the slave owners and not the enslaved. Will the Prime Minister do what Bernie Grant asked all those years ago, and what I and countless others have asked since, by offering a full and meaningful apology for our country’s role in slavery and colonialism, and committing to reparatory justice?

The Commission has not made any assessment of the work the House of Commons Library has been undertaking to review and increase the diversity of its collection.

The Library reports that this work has been underway since August 2020 and involves activities intended to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. These include updating acquisition and deselection policies to include equality, diversity and inclusion considerations; changing practice to widen the range of publishers and institutions from which material is selected; acquiring material to increase coverage of issues relating to racism; modernising the language and concepts used in the Library’s classification scheme; and providing training for Library and committee staff on increasing the diversity of the sources used in research.

The process has involved exchanging experience with universities engaged in decolonising their curricula and collections. However, this is not an approach which the House of Commons Library has adopted: the Library is actively increasing the diversity of its collection rather than decolonising it.

The focus of the Library’s collection policy remains to build and maintain a specialist collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, and politics and government to support the work of Members, Library research teams and the House Service. It has developed a clear statement on its commitment to impartiality and the provision of a wide range of perspectives as part of this.

The Commission has no plans to take steps in response to the Library’s work in this area.

The Commission has not made any assessment of the work the House of Commons Library has been undertaking to review and increase the diversity of its collection.

The Library reports that this work has been underway since August 2020 and involves activities intended to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. These include updating acquisition and deselection policies to include equality, diversity and inclusion considerations; changing practice to widen the range of publishers and institutions from which material is selected; acquiring material to increase coverage of issues relating to racism; modernising the language and concepts used in the Library’s classification scheme; and providing training for Library and committee staff on increasing the diversity of the sources used in research.

The process has involved exchanging experience with universities engaged in decolonising their curricula and collections. However, this is not an approach which the House of Commons Library has adopted: the Library is actively increasing the diversity of its collection rather than decolonising it.

The focus of the Library’s collection policy remains to build and maintain a specialist collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, and politics and government to support the work of Members, Library research teams and the House Service. It has developed a clear statement on its commitment to impartiality and the provision of a wide range of perspectives as part of this.

The Commission has no plans to take steps in response to the Library’s work in this area.

The Commission has not carried out an assessment of potential disadvantages of taking steps to decolonise the Library of the House of Commons. It notes that the Library has been undertaking work to review and increase the diversity of its collection since August 2020 and that while it has engaged in knowledge exchange with institutions in the academic sector that are seeking to decolonise their curricula and library collections, it has not adopted this as an approach to its own work.

The Commission has not carried out an assessment of the potential impact of decolonisation of the Library on the representation of Parliament’s history. However, it understands that the Library’s work on the diversity of its collection is guided by the framework set out in its Collection Development Policy which identifies the criteria used for acquisition, retention and deselection of material. The purpose of the work is to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. It has not changed the core focus of the collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, politics and government or its commitment to curate this as an enduring collection of national importance. It also has a clear commitment to impartiality in its work.

The Commission has not carried out an assessment of potential disadvantages of taking steps to decolonise the Library of the House of Commons. It notes that the Library has been undertaking work to review and increase the diversity of its collection since August 2020 and that while it has engaged in knowledge exchange with institutions in the academic sector that are seeking to decolonise their curricula and library collections, it has not adopted this as an approach to its own work.

The Commission has not carried out an assessment of the potential impact of decolonisation of the Library on the representation of Parliament’s history. However, it understands that the Library’s work on the diversity of its collection is guided by the framework set out in its Collection Development Policy which identifies the criteria used for acquisition, retention and deselection of material. The purpose of the work is to ensure the collection contains a wide range of perspectives which are representative of Britain past and present. It has not changed the core focus of the collection on Parliament and devolved legislatures, the history of UK and Ireland, politics and government or its commitment to curate this as an enduring collection of national importance. It also has a clear commitment to impartiality in its work.

The UK Government supports the option of Overseas Territories retaining their link with the UK, as well as considering other arrangements consistent with the principle of self-determination, subject to the specific circumstance of each territory. The UK Government's long-standing position is that where independence is an option for an Overseas Territory and it is the clear and constitutionally expressed wish of the people to pursue independence, the UK Government will meet its obligations to help the Territory to achieve it.

The UK's relationship with its inhabited Overseas Territories is a modern one based on partnership, shared values and the right of the people of each Territory to choose to remain British.

Where the people of an inhabited Territory choose to remain British, we will maintain and deepen our special relationship with them. The UK and the Territories recognise that our relationship brings mutual benefits and responsibilities. The UK Government's responsibility is to ensure the security and good governance of the Territories and their peoples. The UK Government expect Overseas Territory governments to meet high standards in maintaining the rule of law, respect for human rights and integrity in public life, delivering efficient public services and building strong and successful communities. The UK and inhabited Overseas Territory governments remain in agreement that the Territories are internally self-governing and that the UK Government should retain responsibility for the powers necessary to uphold its constitutional obligations in the Territories.

The UK and its Overseas Territory governments hold an annual Joint Ministerial Council to monitor and drive forward collective priorities for action in the spirit of partnership.

All state-funded schools (including academies) in England are required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum from the ages of 5 to 16, which includes English, Mathematics, science, religious education, and relationships, sex and health education: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum#programmes-of-study-by-subject. The reformed National Curriculum, taught from September 2014, has been developed to match or exceed the standards set in the highest performing jurisdictions. Whilst the National Curriculum creates a minimum expectation for maintained schools, it does not represent everything that a school should teach, nor does it set out how curriculum subjects, or topics within the subjects, should be taught. Teachers have freedom over precise details so they can teach lessons that are right for their pupils. The Government does not have plans to make further changes to the National Curriculum.

I will be hosting a national group of experts on decolonising the British curriculum in January 2021. Will the Secretary of State attend that event to listen to the expert testimonies from the academics regarding this important issue?