Repatriation of human remains

Wiltshire Council did not have the information requested.

Maciej Wójtowicz

Dear Sir or Madam

REPATRIATION OF HUMAN REMAINS

I am carrying out some research into the storage, retention and repatriation of non-European ethnological human remains held in UK regional museums or archives some of which are owned, managed or funded by UK local authorities.

To assist with this could you please let me have the following information under the Freedom of Information Act. All of these questions relate to human remains that are under 1,000 years of age. If your organisation is not covered by the Freedom of Information Act please consider supporting this research anyway and providing the information voluntarily. A link to the research will be provided to all contributers when it is published:

1. How many non-European human remains do you have in your collection or collections managed by organisations which you fund or control? If you do not have the exact number then please provide an approximation based on your normal method of counting.

2. How many human remains do you have in your collection which originated in:
a. Canada
b. New Zealand
c. Australia

3. How many requests for the repatriation of human remains have you had from communities, individuals or institutions outside of Europe since the Human Tissue Act 2004 came into force?

4. Of these requests, how many were:
a. Approved in full, with all of the requested remains being returned to the communities/individuals in question.
b. Approved in part with some of the requested remains being returned.
c. Not approved.
d. Still awaiting a decision.

5. For those requests which were not approved please provide a copy of the final decision letter setting out the reasons.

6. How many human remains have you repatriated to their country of origin proactively without receiving a request?

Thanking you in advance for your assistance with this important research project which should help to reconnect numerous Indigenous communities with their lost ancestors.

Yours faithfully

Maciej Wójtowicz

FOI, Wiltshire Council

Dear Mr Wójtowicz,

Thank you for your request for information dated 07/12/2018.

Your request is being handled under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined within the legislation which means you will hear from us on or before 10/01/2018.

Many thanks
Jenny

Freedom of Information
Information Governance Team
Corporate Services and Digital
Wiltshire Council
County Hall | Trowbridge | Wiltshire | BA14 8JN

[Wiltshire Council request email]
www.wiltshire.gov.uk

www.wiltshire.gov.uk/wisc

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FOI, Wiltshire Council

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Wójtowicz

Please see the attached response to your request for information.

Yours sincerely

David

David Sausins
Information Governance Officer | Corporate Services & Digital | Wiltshire Council | Bythesea Road, Trowbridge, Wiltshire, BA14 8JN | Tel: 01249 709558 | Email: [email address] | Web: www.wiltshire.gov.uk

www.wiltshire.gov.uk/wisc

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