Oral Answers to Questions

John Glen Excerpts

Thursday 17th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

I very much welcome the work that my hon. Friend is doing to champion his community, and offer him the Government’s support for it. I am working with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government ahead of the publication of our forthcoming devolution plans to ensure that we give communities the tools to bring our proud heritage sites back into use, and to repurpose them for future generations.

[John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)]

I urge the Secretary of State and the ministerial team to take account of the listed place of worship grant scheme, which is particularly valuable to many churches up and down the country, and to not allow the Treasury to trim it back. It may expire at the end of March next year.

[Chris Bryant]

The right hon. Gentleman knows very well that spending review issues are a matter for the Treasury—let us see what comes out of that review. I have had lots of representations, and he makes a good point.

--- Later in debate ---

[Marsha De Cordova]

My hon. Friend will know that the Church does not receive any regular financial support from the state, and church buildings often rely on fundraising by local volunteers. The Government’s listed places of worship grant scheme is extremely helpful for all our faith communities with listed buildings across the UK, reimbursing the cost of VAT spent on repairs to those listed churches. This year, more than 5,000 Church of England buildings received support through the scheme. That is transformational for local communities, and enables work on the vital fabrics of those spaces. It is important that that funding scheme continues. The Church has written to the Treasury, along with others, and I hope that my hon. Friends in the Treasury will consider extending the scheme in the upcoming Budget later this month.

[John Glen (Salisbury) (Con)]

I welcome the hon. Lady to her new role, and I associate myself with her tribute to her predecessor. In recent times, the late noble Lord Cormack in the other place convened a meeting of MPs from cathedral cities and their deans, and there are plans to resurrect that meeting. Will the hon. Lady meet me to discuss how we can support her with plans to lobby the Treasury for capital grants for our great English cathedrals, including Salisbury, to maintain their presence in our country?

[Marsha De Cordova]

Yes, I am very happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman.