President to Chair Review of the Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums

In 2005, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport published guidance for museums and other institutions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that hold human remains in their permanent collections. In September 2026, the Government’s Minister for Arts and Museums, Baroness Ruth Mackenzie CBE, announced a formal review of this guidance, stating that ‘the legal, ethical, and moral conversations regarding the treatment and care of human remains in museum collections have evolved significantly’ in the last twenty-one years. 

Professor Lady Sue Black has been appointed as the Chair of an independent working group tasked with reviewing and updating the 2005 guidance to ensure it remains a practical, relevant and ethically robust tool for museums in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The care of human remains is a longstanding concern of Professor Black’s and she discussed the ethics of buying, selling and displaying human remains in a recent public lecture at St John’s in September 2025. A recording of the lecture is available here

In undertaking this review, Professor Black will be supported by a working group of representatives from a wide variety of museums and will take evidence from independent experts and community representatives. The review is expected to conclude within 12 months, with the revised guidance intended to be published by autumn 2027.