Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Restoration Funding

Thursday 17 October 2024 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Churches and cathedrals are cultural and historical treasures with the Church of England managing over 12,200 listed buildings in England.
  • The Church of England faces an annual maintenance cost of 115 million and a repair backlog of approximately 1 billion.
  • John Glen welcomed the Minister to her new role and proposed meeting to discuss plans to resurrect a meeting of MPs from cathedral cities and their deans.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Douglas McAllister Lab West Dunbartonshire
Culture, Media & Sport Religion & Faith
Context

The Church of England manages over 12,200 listed buildings in England. The annual maintenance cost is estimated at £115 million and the repair backlog is about £1 billion.

Question

What estimate has the Church Commissioners made of levels of funding required to restore parish churches and cathedrals?

Answer from Marsha de Cordova

Churches and cathedrals are cultural and historical treasures. The Church of England manages over 12,200 listed buildings in England. The annual maintenance cost is £115 million with a repair backlog of approximately £1 billion.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide an estimate from the Church Commissioners as requested.

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Q2 Douglas McAllister Lab West Dunbartonshire
Community Security Religion & Faith
Context

The listed places of worship grant scheme, introduced by Gordon Brown in 2004, is UK-wide and provides support for the repair costs of VAT incurred on repairs to listed churches.

Question

There are many places of worship in perilous condition across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The listed places of worship grant scheme is set to end in March 2025. What efforts have the Church Commissioners made to ensure that the scheme is extended beyond this date?

Answer from Marsha de Cordova

My hon. Friend will know that the Church does not receive regular financial support from the state, and church buildings often rely on fundraising by local volunteers. The Government's listed places of worship grant scheme is extremely helpful for all our faith communities with listed buildings across the UK, reimbursing the cost of VAT spent on repairs to those listed churches. This year, more than 5,000 Church of England buildings received support through the scheme. That is transformational for local communities, and enables work on the vital fabrics of those spaces. It is important that funding continues. The Church has written to the Treasury, along with others, and I hope my hon. Friends in the Treasury will consider extending the scheme in the upcoming Budget later this month.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The answer did not provide specific efforts by the Church Commissioners to extend the scheme beyond March 2025.

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Q3 John Glen Con Salisbury
Religion & Faith
Context

There are plans to revive a meeting of MPs from cathedral cities and their deans, convened by the late noble Lord Cormack.

Question

I welcome the hon. Lady to her new role and associate myself with her tribute to her predecessor. In recent times, the late noble Lord Cormack in the other place convened a meeting of MPs from cathedral cities and their deans. There are plans to resurrect that meeting. Will the hon. Lady meet me to discuss how we can support her with plans to lobby the Treasury for capital grants for our great English cathedrals, including Salisbury, to maintain their presence in our country?

Answer from Marsha de Cordova

Yes, I am very happy to meet the right hon. Gentleman.

Not addressed: The answer did not provide any substantive information or commitment regarding lobbying for capital grants.

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