AHEAD of Rachel Reeves’s Autumn Budget on Wednesday, the Archbishop of York has urged the Government to make the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS) “permanent” and to “lift the cap on claims”.
The Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) announced in January that the grant scheme, which allows for individual places of worship to reclaim VAT on essential repair and maintenance costs, would be extended only for one year and capped at £23 million, and that individual sites would be eligible for a maximum of £25,000 (News, 24 January).
“The vast majority of fundraising for our churches is done locally by heroic volunteers and we are deeply grateful for all they do. For more than 20 years, they have relied on the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to give that crucial bit of extra help,” Archbishop Cottrell said in a statement issued on Saturday.
“This is a relatively small investment by the Government in buildings that are estimated to have a huge social value. We urge the Government to make the scheme permanent and lift the cap on claims.”
Churches, he said, were “at the heart of our communities — not only as places of worship, but as spaces of warm welcome, history, and hope”.
At the same time, Church House published findings from a survey, conducted by Savanta earlier this month, which examines the public’s relationship with church buildings.
Of the 2018 UK adults polled, 59 per cent agreed that “the Government should help with the cost of repairing and maintaining historic churches.” A greater proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds agreed with this statement (71 per cent) than those aged 65 and over (49 per cent).
Most people — 77 per cent of those surveyed — agreed with the statement: “Historic cathedrals and churches are local and national treasures.”
More than three-quarters of 25- to 34-year-olds (76 per cent) agreed that “the local church contributes positively to my community” — compared to 53 per cent of both 18- to 24-year-olds and those aged 65 and above. More men than women (64 per cent vs 59 per cent) agreed with this statement.
Similarly, those aged 25 to 34 were more likely than all other age groups to agree that “the Church is an important part of British society” and that “Churches provide something special” (74 per cent).
In total, 41 per cent said that they had visited a church or cathedral “simply to find a quiet space for reflection or prayer”. Those aged 18-34 (50 per cent) were more likely than those aged 35-54 (43 per cent) or 55 and over (33 per cent) to have done so.
Of those who said they had contact with their local church (43 per cent), 16 per cent said that this was “through a group, such as toddler group or lunch club”, nine per cent “through a food bank”, and 53 per cent “attending services/worship”.
Archbishop Cottrell said that hundreds of churches had signed up to provide Warm Spaces, providing help to people struggling to afford energy bills. “In some areas they are the only public buildings where people can come and gather together,” he said.
The Bishop of Ramsbury, the Rt Revd Andrew Rumsey, who is the lead bishop for church buildings, said that the results affirmed the high value the British people put on church buildings as places of service, sanctuary and heritage. “Their broad appeal and vital role in social welfare underline the case for Governmental support in the form of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which we urgently need to continue beyond the end of the current interim scheme in March 2026,” he said.
The Dean of St Albans, the Very Revd Jo Kelly-Moore, who chairs the Association of English Cathedrals, said that scrapping the scheme would have a “hugely negative impact on our cathedrals, many of which have long-term repair and renewal projects costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. . . And yet these buildings, as the survey found, are our nation’s treasure houses. They stand strong at the heart of the nation at times of national sorrow and national celebration and offer a welcome at all times to people of all faiths and none.”
