A lack of a comprehensive scoping document detailing which museums hold collections comprising human remains is causing confusion about the requirement to license them, which was introduced at the beginning of this month.
David Crossland, the Human Tissue Authority's (HTA) regulation manager, told Museums Journal that the HTA would find it difficult to enforce the legislation (Human Tissue Act 2004) that requires museums to obtain a licence.
'Because it is a sector that we are not that familiar with at the moment, if a museum doesn't apply [for a licence] then right now, we won't know,' he said. 'The only thing we do have is a list of all museums and galleries, but 99 per cent of those won't fall within the act.'
The licence is designed for museums exhibiting human remains or tissue where a collection holds material from a person who died less than 100 years ago from the commencement of licensing - after 1 September 1906. The HTA advises museums to still apply if there are doubts about the age of the remains.
The HTA has been criticised for failing to communicate properly with the sector, and particularly with smaller museums, in the run-up to the deadline for applications.
John Jackson, the science policy coordinator at the Natural History Museum, questioned whether museums knew about the legislation. 'I don't know how they are communicating directly with museums and, if they are not, how they expect museums to know about it.'
Piotr Bienkowski, the deputy director of the Manchester Museum, who attended a consultation for museums organised by the HTA in June, praised the organisation for 'listening to and hearing what museums professionals were saying', but said that 'they didn't really understand how the sector worked'.
Bienkowski also expressed concern that the licence fee - which was going to be a flat fee of £5,000 a year for all applicants regardless of size - would be 'punitive' and would 'encourage museums not to report human remains in their collections because they can't afford the licence'.
The HTA has since announced that the fee will be scaled so museums holding collections with less than 20 exhibits of relevant material will pay an annual fee of £500, while those with more will pay £6,000 a year.
But despite this concession, there are still worries that when small museums realise the time and cost involved with obtaining a licence there may be a nationwide attempt to dispose of human remains. Both Jackson and Bienkowski indicated that their museums would not be inclined to take on any disposals if this happened.
Maurice Davies, the deputy director of the Museums Association, said: 'At the very least, there needs to be some training sessions, better communication, and some detailed discussion and assistance, particularly for small, isolated museums with collections of human remains.'
Patrick Steel
David Crossland, the Human Tissue Authority's (HTA) regulation manager, told Museums Journal that the HTA would find it difficult to enforce the legislation (Human Tissue Act 2004) that requires museums to obtain a licence.
'Because it is a sector that we are not that familiar with at the moment, if a museum doesn't apply [for a licence] then right now, we won't know,' he said. 'The only thing we do have is a list of all museums and galleries, but 99 per cent of those won't fall within the act.'
The licence is designed for museums exhibiting human remains or tissue where a collection holds material from a person who died less than 100 years ago from the commencement of licensing - after 1 September 1906. The HTA advises museums to still apply if there are doubts about the age of the remains.
The HTA has been criticised for failing to communicate properly with the sector, and particularly with smaller museums, in the run-up to the deadline for applications.
John Jackson, the science policy coordinator at the Natural History Museum, questioned whether museums knew about the legislation. 'I don't know how they are communicating directly with museums and, if they are not, how they expect museums to know about it.'
Piotr Bienkowski, the deputy director of the Manchester Museum, who attended a consultation for museums organised by the HTA in June, praised the organisation for 'listening to and hearing what museums professionals were saying', but said that 'they didn't really understand how the sector worked'.
Bienkowski also expressed concern that the licence fee - which was going to be a flat fee of £5,000 a year for all applicants regardless of size - would be 'punitive' and would 'encourage museums not to report human remains in their collections because they can't afford the licence'.
The HTA has since announced that the fee will be scaled so museums holding collections with less than 20 exhibits of relevant material will pay an annual fee of £500, while those with more will pay £6,000 a year.
But despite this concession, there are still worries that when small museums realise the time and cost involved with obtaining a licence there may be a nationwide attempt to dispose of human remains. Both Jackson and Bienkowski indicated that their museums would not be inclined to take on any disposals if this happened.
Maurice Davies, the deputy director of the Museums Association, said: 'At the very least, there needs to be some training sessions, better communication, and some detailed discussion and assistance, particularly for small, isolated museums with collections of human remains.'
Patrick Steel
