Oral Answers to Questions

Calvin Bailey Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2025 Commons Chamber

The hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked—

[Mr Calvin Bailey (Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)]

8. What assessment the Church Commissioners have made of the potential impact of the £25,000 cap in the listed places of worship grant scheme on church repairs.

[The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Marsha De Cordova)]

A survey carried out by the Church Commissioners found that at least 200 projects have been identified as likely to be affected by the cap on claims, including cathedrals and many parish churches in areas of considerable deprivation.

[Mr Bailey]

I thank my hon. Friend for her reply. Christ Church in Wanstead in my constituency is a wonderful community hub in a beautiful building, which sadly needs urgent repair to prevent dangerous stones falling from the belltower. In total, the repairs cost around £2 million, but grant funding and donations for a project of that scale are very challenging to find—a challenge that will be increased by the cap and the reimbursement of VAT. Has my hon. Friend had conversations with the Government about the impact of the cap, and uncertainty over the scheme in future years, on such large-scale essential repair projects?