Its purpose is to confer, on certain national institutions, a power that was already possessed by other museums to return to their rightful owners cultural objects unlawfully acquired during the Nazi era.

This power was fully exercised by the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Act 2009 (Commencement) Order 2010 (S.I.

It provided that the Act would have expired at the end of the period of ten years which began on the day it was passed.

This clause was repealed under the Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) (Amendment) Act 2019.

Since the implementation of the Holocaust Act, the Advisory Panel has considered twenty-two claims for the restitution of artefacts and objects.