HL Deb 30 November 2000 vol 619 cc179-80WA
Lord Janner of Braunstone

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will provide any assistance to the Council of Europe following the Vilnius Conference on Looted Art in setting up a website to list all works of art with dubious provenance between the years 1933–1945. [HL4690]

Lord McIntosh of Haringey

We will consider any formal proposal that might be put forward to us, although I understand that Sotheby's is to assist the Council of Europe in setting up a central website on looted art. In the meantime I join with the noble Lord in expressing satisfaction that the UK is continuing to lead the world in researching the provenance of works in public museums and galleries and congratulate the National Museum Directors' Conference (NMDC) on the establishment in February this year of their website listing objects in the national collections where the provenance between 1933 and 1945 is incomplete. I understand that NMDC have recently updated their website to include information relating to some local authority, university and independent museums.