Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason a cap was introduced to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was previously due to end in March 2025. The Government extended this for one year with an overall budget of £23m. To ensure this budget remains affordable, claims are now capped at £25,000 per place of worship. These changes to the scheme were necessary given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited and the pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors and we feel that the cap ensures the fairest distribution of the available budget. Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims were for under £5,000.