Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the contribution of village halls as community spaces, and (2) the risk of closures of such facilities; and what steps they are taking to support local authorities and community groups to keep village halls open.

Defra is committed to supporting village halls and is well aware of their role as important rural community buildings. This support is predominately delivered through our funding of Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE).

Through a network of skilled advisers, ACRE coordinates a nationwide information and advice service for the volunteers who manage halls. Advisers are based in every rural county of England and combine their specialist knowledge of running community buildings with extensive local knowledge. The advisers help with a wide range of queries, from holding AGMs to recruiting volunteers, applying for funding and building relationships with local councils.

ACRE does not collect data on the number of village halls but estimates this to be around 10,000 in England. ACRE surveys the halls known to its members every 10 years. The last survey was in 2020 and found that halls were not closing at the same rate as pubs and religious buildings. When a hall closes it is usually because a new one is being built or users have moved to use a new hall in another local village, making the old hall no longer viable.

ACRE reported that while there were concerns that some village halls may not re-open after being temporarily closed during the Covid lockdown, ACRE has no evidence that the closure of halls is significant. There was also concern that halls might close over the winter due to rising energy costs, but ACRE has received no reports that this has happened.

Village halls across England can now apply for grants to improve and modernise their facilities. Launched to mark the occasion of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, the £3 million Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund recognises the important role that village halls play in supporting rural communities.

The fund is managed by ACRE on behalf of Defra. It is anticipated that the fund will support around 125 village halls over a three-year period creating bigger, better and brighter village halls for communities to enjoy. The Fund opened in December 2022 to applications from projects aiming to deliver a positive impact on the local environment, reduce rural loneliness, support the rural economy and contribute to community life. Capital grants will be allocated to support infrastructure improvements and measures to improve energy efficiency.

ACRE also administers the £700,000 Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund on behalf of Defra. The Fund helps community groups with renovation, refurbishment and building projects. The Rural Community Buildings Loan Fund can be used to support a larger number of halls regularly carrying out maintenance, repair and small improvements, whereas a progressively smaller number of halls undertake more costly projects, which the Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund is designed to assist.