Written questions

Collections: Human Remains

Lords · Question HL3034 · Tabled 28 Nov 2024 · Department for Culture, Media and Sport · Official record

Answered 11 Dec 2024

Question

Asked by Lord Boateng

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the presence of ancestral human remains in the national collections, and what records they keep centrally of the quantity and location of such items.

Answer

Answered by Baroness Twycross, 11 Dec 2024

No such assessment has been made, and there are no centrally kept records. Museums are independent of government and decisions related to their collections are for their trustees to make.The Human Tissue Act 2004 allows national museums to remove human re...