Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has considered (a) phasing in changes and (b) enabling the completion of projects that were (i) already on-site, (ii) due to commence shortly and (ii) part of phased works that had begun prior to the changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Claims received in this financial year are unaffected, assuming that they are eligible claims with the required detail and documentation.
We expect the cap will be applied to all claims received on or after 1 April 2025. We will be publishing guidance on scheme applications and eligibility in due course.
Asked by: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department made an assessment of the potential impact of proposed changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, announced on 22 January 2025, on the ability of religious buildings in (a) areas of (i) deprivation and (ii) low economic activity and (b) investment zones to serve their communities.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
DCMS Ministers received advice on changes to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including consideration of the potential impacts of various options to scale the scheme.
We believe that the changes announced will continue the widest distribution of the scheme’s benefits for communities within the available means, including in areas of deprivation and low economic activity. Based on previous scheme data, we expect 94% of claims to be unaffected by this change.