Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Project Spire

Thursday 3 July 2025 · 1 question

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 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Sir Desmond Swayne asked about funding for church repairs and mentioned Project Spire.
  • The Minister responded that Project Spire is a separate issue from funding for church repairs.
  • The Minister stated that funding for Project Spire is distinct from the listed places of worship grant scheme and the buildings for mission fund.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Desmond Swayne Con New Forest West
Religion & Faith
Context

Members have been lobbying for church repair funds, while the Church has already spent £5 million on Project Spire with aspirations of reaching £1 billion. The Charity Commission's verdict on whether this aligns with charitable objectives is pending.

Question

A number of Members this morning have lobbied for expenditure to repair their churches, and the hon. Lady has told them to lobby the Government—the Department for Culture, Media and Sport—for that money. At the same time, the Church has already spent £5 million on Project Spire, with the aspiration of taking it to £1 billion, when the Charity Commission has yet to deliver its verdict on whether that is within the charitable objectives allowable. How has that been allowed to happen?

Answer from Marsha De Cordova

These are two separate issues. What is going on in relation to funding for Project Spire is totally separate to any other funding—the listed places of worship grant scheme is a separate scheme. The buildings for mission fund that supports our churches is totally separate.

Partly answered

Not addressed: How the Church was allowed to spend £5 million on Project Spire without Charity Commission approval

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