Oral Answers to Questions

Sarah Bool Excerpts

Thursday 12th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

There is. We are investing up to £425 million via the creative foundations fund for urgent capital works for not-for-profit cultural venues in England. The funding is already supporting older theatres, such as Scarborough Theatre Trust and Northampton Theatres Trust. I understand that Wyvern theatre’s activities involve Swindon borough council, a commercial operator and a charitable programme via Reach Inclusive Arts. I encourage local partners to discuss capital pressures with Arts Council England and my hon. Friend. I am sure that the Arts Minister would be delighted to meet him and his colleague, my right hon. Friend the Member for Swindon South (Heidi Alexander), to discuss that further.

[Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

5. What steps her Department is taking to support owners of listed buildings with the cost of essential repairs and maintenance.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (Stephanie Peacock)]

Our listed buildings stand at the heart of our communities, and we are investing in heritage across the country with £230 million by 2030 to support listed buildings across England. That includes £75 million through the heritage at risk capital fund to support the repair and conservation of buildings at risk, and £92 million through the places of worship renewal fund for urgent repairs that keep buildings in use.

[Sarah Bool]

Many churches relied on the listed places of worship grant scheme to reclaim VAT paid on essential repairs and maintenance. The Government say that the new places of worship renewal fund will be targeted at areas with the greatest disadvantage and need. Can the Minister clarify the metrics being used and reassure my constituents that rural churches in areas such as South Northamptonshire will not be overlooked?

[Stephanie Peacock]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady and I appreciate that she is a huge champion for her local community, which has a rich heritage. The reality is that, under the previous scheme, 80% of those who got funding said that they would have done it anyway, so it was hugely under-targeted. The reality was also that more deprived areas simply could not raise the capital needed in the first place to qualify for the VAT rebate. Our places of worship renewal fund targets those places with the greatest levels of both deprivation and need.