Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, has criticised the Government’s decision to cut £19 million from the Listed Places of Worship Scheme, which has been allocated an annual spend of £42m since it was launched in 2001 and has now been cut to a total allocation of £23m per annum.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport says the Scheme ‘gives grants towards VAT paid on repairs and renovations to the UK’s listed sites of worship, such as works to the foundations, masonry and monuments integral to the buildings.’ Dr Evans said “a cut of 45% to the fund will have significant and lasting impact on local churches in need of repair.”
Funds have been used locally to support churches such as the Grade II-listed Church of St Mary the Virgin in Congerstone.
The Minister for Culture, Sir Chris Bryant MP, announced that the Scheme would be continuing for the 2025/26 financial year in a Westminster Hall debate at the end of January. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport had come under fire by Dr Evans and other MPs from across the House of Commons as the future of the Scheme and vital funding for around 20,000 listed cathedrals, churches and chapels across the United Kingdom was uncertain.
Dr Evans, who visited St Mary the Virgin in Congerstone and heard about how the church benefited from the Scheme, has criticised the Government’s decision to only extend the Scheme for the next financial year, saying “there is no sense of permanency here, it’s distressing for churches and the communities that rely on them.”
Furthermore, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has now introduced a cap of £25,000 on the total amount that a listed place of worship can claim per year.
In an effort to explain the funding cut the Minister stated that of the £42m total allocated for the 2023/24 financial year, only £29m had been spent. However, analysis by independent researchers at the House of Commons Library shows that average spend for the Listed Places of Worship Scheme over the seven financial years from 2016/17 to 2022/23 has been over £31m per annum, with more than £34m spent on grants in both 2018/19 and 2019/20.
Dr Luke Evans, Member of Parliament for Hinckley and Bosworth, said “When I was Shadow Minister in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport last year I raised concerns around the impact that delaying this announcement would have on places of worship and the many people and community groups that use their spaces and services.
“I am pleased the Government has finally agreed to extend the Scheme, however it is disappointing that funding for the scheme has been cut by £19m, a cap of £25,000 per Grant has been imposed and that the Government has neglected to give cathedrals, churches and chapels a long-term solution. I have raised these concerns with the Government and will push for answers for our community.”
Sir Chris Bryant MP, the Minister for Creative Industries, Arts and Tourism, responded to a debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday 23rd January and said “By tradition, a cathedral is not symmetrical because only God is perfect. I am sure this funding is not perfection in terms of what everybody would want, but I hope it is at least acceptable.”
