Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to preserve sites of local cultural heritage.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
His Majesty’s Government is committed to protecting the historic environment for the benefit of present and future generations. DCMS is responsible for the statutory heritage protection system and welcomes applications — through Historic England — for heritage assets to be considered for designation.
Significant public funding is distributed to heritage assets across the country, via both Government and our key partners such as Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Historic England provides funding for heritage through various grant schemes, including £11.3 million annually for Heritage at Risk. Historic England has also awarded public funding to 67 historic High Streets across England through the £95 million High Street Heritage Action Zone Programme, with the majority of this funding being used to repair and improve heritage assets.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund also provides funding for heritage projects with a community angle across the country, awarding more than £8.4 billion in Lottery funds to more than 46,000 heritage projects across the UK. The Fund has made awards in every parliamentary constituency in the UK.
Through the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, HM Government is directly investing in many projects which benefit heritage across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The £150 million Community Ownership Fund is also open to groups across the UK to take ownership of heritage assets which are at risk of being lost to the community. Many of these projects are benefiting heritage assets in areas across the country.
DCMS also provides up to £42 million for the Listed Place of Worship Grant Scheme, which provides grants to reimburse the VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship, to support our historic spiritual architecture for the benefit of present and future generations.
Asked by: Andy Carter (Conservative - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the (a) value of grants awarded by and (b) number of grant recipients for the Listed Places of Worship Scheme was since 2010.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was established to reimburse the VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship. The grant scheme has been managed by multiple administrators on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport since it was established in 2001, and there are limited data predating 2014. Since 2010, a total of £358,356,027 has been allocated in grant funding to support places of worship throughout the UK. Based on the data the Department does possess, it can be estimated that 22,633 listed places of worship were the recipients of grant funding through the scheme since 2014.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has taken steps to support the musical tradition of the Church of England in (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
HM Government has a strong commitment to all forms of music, including church music. Government support for church music is primarily channelled through Arts Council England, which between 2019/20 and 2023/24 has funded activity with a choral element or focus by more than £190 million. Although this funding is not specifically aimed at music traditional to the Church of England, this funding has supported the development, touring and promotion of choral music throughout England, including organisations the focus of which is on music in the tradition of the Church of England.
Government provides support for churches via the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which provides grants to cover the VAT expenses associated with repair and conservation of listed churches. This includes conservation efforts for monuments situated in listed places of worship. At present there is up to £42m available per year and this amount of funding has been secured until 31 March 2025. One of the eligible costs for the LPWGS is pipe organs permanently fixed to the structure of the listed building, with essential restoration and repair works being enabled through Government financial support. Since August 2022, £39,054,024 has been funded to historic churches across the UK through the grant scheme. In the Romford constituency specifically, the total funding since August 2022 has been £60,619.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which listed places of worship in (a) Lincolnshire and (b) South Holland and the Deepings constituency have received funding since 2017; and how much each received.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, jointly funded by HM Treasury and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to provide up to £42 million per annum, was established to provide grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship. Through this scheme, 1,177 grants have been awarded to places of worship in Lincolnshire since 2017, amounting to a total of £3,882,071. In the South Holland and the Deepings constituency, 130 grants have been awarded since 2017, amounting to a total of £323,285.
A dataset showing a full list of grant scheme recipients — including those in both Lincolnshire, and the South Holland and the Deepings constituency — since August 2022 is available here on gov.uk.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help conserve historic churches in (a) the UK and (b) Romford constituency.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport supports the preservation of historic churches through financial assistance provided by the Department's Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme provides grants to cover the VAT expenses associated with repair and conservation of listed places of worship. This includes conservation efforts for monuments situated in listed places of worship. These grants apply when the monument is an integral part of the building's structure.
Since August 2022, £39,054,024 has been funded to historic churches across the UK through the grant scheme. In the Romford constituency specifically, the total funding since August 2022 has been £60,619.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to provide financial support for (a) art, (b) music, (c) heritage, (d) sport and (e) other local cultural offerings.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
His Majesty’s Government provides funding opportunities for arts, music, heritage, sports and other cultural organisations through a range of sources, including direct Government funding, through arm’s-length bodies like Arts Council England, and indirectly through local authority funding.
We have delivered significant support for heritage, including the High Street Heritage Action Zones, a heritage-led regeneration programme administered by Historic England. With a budget of £95 million, this programme focuses on fostering growth in historic high streets throughout England. HM Government also supports the upkeep of listed places of worship via the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which allocates up to £42 million per year. This scheme provides grants for the reimbursement of VAT incurred during the maintenance of the nation's listed churches. Arm’s-length bodies, like Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, provide further support to the heritage sector through various grants, including the Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk programme..
We are committed to supporting the arts, music, and wider cultural sectors, including through our arm’s-length body, Arts Council England. Through its current investment programme, more than £444 million of public money is being invested each year in arts and culture across England. This is an increase from £410 million in the previous portfolio, and will support 985 organisations across England – more than ever before. In addition, through Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grant funding, in 2022/23 over £105 million of awards went to individuals and arts organisations across the country.
For sport, Government support is delivered alongside National Lottery funding through the UK Sports Councils, and UK Sport provides funding to support potential Olympic and Paralympic athletes. We provide the majority of support for grassroots sport through our arm’s-length body, Sport England, which receives over £100 million in public funding each year. In addition, direct Government financial support worth over £350 million is being delivered through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, Swimming Pool Support Fund, and the tennis court refurbishment programme.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which listed places of worship in (a) the North East and (b) Sunderland received funding since 2019; and how much each received.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was established to provide grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places or worship. Through this grant scheme, 829 awards have been issued to places of worship in the North East of England since 2019, amounting to a total of £3,532,709. In Sunderland, 39 awards have been issued to places of worship since 2019, amounting to a total of £663,885.
A dataset showing a full list of grant scheme recipients since August 2022 is available here on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nearly-5000-churches-across-the-united-kingdom-benefit-from-42-million-conservation-fund.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the impact of her Department's Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on places of worship in the West Midlands.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was established to provide grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship. A total of 727 claims have been paid out in the West Midlands, worth £2,935,543, since August 2022.
Asked by: Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will introduce a zero rate of VAT for repairs of rural churches.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the twenty per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Whilst there are exceptions to the standard rate, these have always been limited by both legal and fiscal considerations.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport already administer the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. This aims to redress financial shortfalls by providing grants towards VAT paid on repairs and maintenance to the nation's listed places of worship. With annual funding increased to £42 million per annum, the scheme handles around 7,000 claims per annum and has made grants totalling over £300 million to date.
Going further by zero rating all repairs of rural churches would impose significant additional pressure on the public finances to which VAT makes a significant contribution.
There are no plans to introduce a new VAT relief for the repair of rural churches. However, the Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Pauline Latham (Conservative - Mid Derbyshire)
Question
To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what support the Commissioners provide to churches in Mid Derbyshire constituency on Historic England's Heritage at Risk.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
In the Mid Derbyshire constituency the Church of the Holy Trinity in Belper, and All Saints Church in Ockbrook and Borrowash, are on the 'At Risk Register'. Support and advice for parishes about the management of their building is available from their local Archdeacon, the Diocesan Advisory Committee and from the national ChurchCare website, including on available grants: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare
Around 2,500 Church of England buildings are listed by Historic England, with 45% of all England's Grade I listed buildings being cathedrals and churches. The average annual cost for the maintenance and repairs to parish churches is estimated at £150 million, and the maintenance of churches across the country is mostly financed by generous local donors and volunteers.
The Church remains grateful for the continuation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. Money invested in church buildings brings positive benefits to the wider community: the 2021 House of Good report by the National Churches Trust (https://www.houseofgood.nationalchurchestrust.org/) found that "the annual social and economic value of church buildings to the UK is worth around £55 billion. This sum, calculated using the latest HM Treasury Green Book guidance, includes the contribution churches make to wellbeing and to local economies."
The Government commissioned an independent review of the sustainability of English Churches and Cathedrals in 2017, known as the 'Taylor Review'. The Church is still awaiting the formal response from the Government to this report; however, the National Church Institutions have started to implement several of the recommendations. The Taylor Review can be read here: The Taylor Review: Sustainability of English Churches and Cathedrals - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
In November 2023 the Church of England awarded £9 million to dioceses for repairs and specialist advice to parishes. This will fund 30 support officers across the country to give specialist advice on the management, conservation, repair and development of church buildings, including community use alongside worship. A further £6.2 million has been allocated across 41 dioceses for making grants of up to £12,000 for repairs to churches. The grants will focus on small-scale but urgent works and projects that could save larger sums in the long term. The fund will also be able to help cover the cost of essential improvements for the mission and ministry of a church. More information can be found here: https://www.churchofengland.org/media-and-news/press-releases/church-england-announces-ps9-million-help-parishes-repairs-and