(Secretary of State for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs): It is the normal
practice when a government department proposes to make a gift of
a value exceeding £300,000, for the department concerned to
present to the House of Commons a minute giving particulars of
the gift and explaining the circumstances; and to refrain from
making the gift until fourteen parliamentary sitting days after
the issue of the minute, except in cases of special urgency.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and
the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local
Government on 27 January 2020 made a formal joint announcement of
a donation by the UK Government of £1 million to the
Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. This donation reflects HMG’s
strong commitment to Holocaust remembrance in this the
75th anniversary year of the liberation of
Auschwitz-Birkenau. The donation will be funded by the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities
and Local Government at a cost of £500,000 each. This is a gift
donation with no preconditions attached. There is however a
precedent for this donation. In 2011 the then Foreign Secretary
and then Communities Secretary announced a £2.15 million donation
to the Foundation over three years. The Auschwitz-Birkenau
Foundation was founded in 2009 and collects funding for the
preservation and maintenance of the grounds and remnants of the
former Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau concentration camps,
which are supervised by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in
Oświęcim, Poland. The proposed donation has a symbolic value;
moreover, preserving Auschwitz-Birkenau contributes to the
continuation of Holocaust education. Several thousand UK citizens
visit Auschwitz-Birkenau each year and it provides a lasting
memorial to the dangers of antisemitism, extremism and racism in
general.
The Treasury has approved the proposal in principle. If, during
the period of fourteen parliamentary sitting days beginning on
the date on which this minute was laid before the House of
Commons, a Member signifies an objection by giving notice of a
Parliamentary Question or a Motion relating to the minute, or by
otherwise raising the matter in the House, final approval of the
gift will be withheld pending an examination of the objection.
