THE Minister for Local Government, Jim McMahon, has declined to give any assurance that the Listed Places of Worship Grant (LPWG) Scheme will be made permanent, or that projects already under way will be exempt from the new cap.
In a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday, Mr McMahon said that the limits placed on the scheme were “due to the difficult fiscal circumstances that this Government inherited”. Continuation of the scheme was a matter for the Spending Review, due to take place in June.
In January, the Government announced that the scheme had been extended for one year only and capped at £23 million, and that individual places of worship were ligible for a maximum of £25,000 (News, 24 January). The decision has prompted widespread criticism in the heritage sector, including warnings of “devastating” consequences for projects (News, 11 April).
The debate on Tuesday was secured by the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha de Cordova, and the Conservative MP for Salisbury, John Glen. Ms de Cordova said: “The retrospective implementation of the new scheme is causing immense difficulty and preventing responsible budgeting or commissioning work as part of multi-year refurbishment schemes and good stewardship of these buildings.” It was estimated that 260 Church of England churches would be affected.
Her speech was one of many that highlighted the economic and social contributions made by churches to communities, “contributions often delivered at no cost to the State but with such a great return for the communities in which they serve” (Comment, 5 November 2021). Several speakers referred to her own church, Holy Trinity, Clapham, where a £6.2-million project is now at risk.
“We need a long-term solution,” she said. “It is time to give stability and certainty to these treasures of our built heritage.” Her three requests were to make the LPWG Scheme permanent, without a cap; to prioritise support for projects already under way, or with contracts already under way; and to consider the establishment of a new capital funding scheme for listed places of worship.
As a former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Mr Glen told MPs that he could remember the “constant demand for more money”, but recalled that money had been secured by the previous government for the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund (News, 21 March 2014), the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund (News, 20 March 2015), and the Heritage Stimulus Fund for major works, a part of the cultural recovery fund in 2021 and 2022 (News, 29 October 2021).
“Public finances are clearly challenged, but I do think there is enormous willingness in many communities where the Government are doing something to match that funding,” he said. He advised Mr McMahon to consider while planning his budget that “a Chancellor is always looking for small items, good news stories”. There was “a great opportunity to find a capital grant scheme for matched funding from philanthropic and charitable giving that would be really popular and welcomed across the house”.
During her speech, Ms de Cordova highlighted the Church of England’s own funding contributions, including the £11-million Buildings for Mission fund (News, 10 November 2023) and the £30 million provided in Cathedrals Sustainability Fund grants since 2017. She also referred the £100-million pledged by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (News, 13 September 2024) and parish giving. But, she warned: “This will not be enough to support every church to undertake its necessary work.”
Parliament TVThe Conservative MP for Salisbury, John Glen, speaks in the Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday morning
The Liberal Democrat culture spokesman, Max Wilkinson, told MPs: “Historically, churches have provided more than spiritual guidance, although that is, of course, their primary service. They funded hospitals, they built schools, and supported the most vulnerable long before the modern welfare state. They were and they still are the institutions to which many of us turn first in times of hardship and crisis. . . They often step in where the State has stepped back.”
A “full-time dad” before his election, he expressed gratitude for the churches that hosted toddler groups in his area.
The Conservative MP for Torridge and Tavistock, Sir Geoffrey Cox KC, spoke of “the difficulty in getting the Church to recognise that it, too, has an obligation to stand by the side of local communities when these wonderful and precious buildings are to be closed as places of worship and help them find community purpose for it. The Church can’t ignore its responsibility.”
The Shadow Culture Minister, Saqib Bhatti, described the Government’s response to the “repairs crisis” as “one of delay, confusion, and cuts” and called for “the end of the dithering. . . The Government must work to protect our national heritage with pride, not leave them crumbling in the dark shadows of bureaucratic delay.”
In his response, Mr McMahon highlighted the £50 million allocated by the Government to protect faith communities, including £18 million through the Jewish Community Protective Security Grant and £29.4 million through the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme. He also spoke of the Government’s £1.5-billion funding for 75 selected communities through the Plan for Neighbourhoods. Local neighbourhood boards could include representatives from faith communities and hold discussions on the role of places of worship, he said.
In addition to the funding outlined by Ms de Cordova, listed places of worship might be eligible “in exceptional circumstances” for Heritage at Risk funding from Historic England. “It is never just one fund that provides the answer to the question, it is about blending different funding streams together in the end to make these schemes add up,” he said.
Mr Glen urged him to consider that within the budgets for which he was responsible “there will be capital underspends in year.” He suggested that Mr McMahon could make the case to the Treasury that some of this money be allocated to works already in progress: “a very savvy and politically sensible way of proceeding”.
The Minister assured the MPs that: “I will certainly take back the enthusiasm from this debate and make the point to other ministers in DCMS and also the minister for faith.”
In his contribution, the Labour MP for South West Norfolk, Terry Jermy, said that the Labour MP with the constituency with the second largest number of places of worship on the Heritage at Risk Register was the Prime Minister.