Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 16 September 2025 (HL10149), what plans they have to disburse all the remaining funds in the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme by raising the cap on individual claims retrospectively in the final weeks of the scheme.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Scheme for 2025 to 2026 will close on 31st March 2026 or once the £23 million budget has been reached, whichever is earlier. In order to ensure the scheme is available to as many listed places of worship as possible, within this context, we do not feel it is appropriate to reassess the cap for this financial year.
As announced on 22 January, from April 2026, the Places of Worship Renewal Fund will introduce to a more targeted model aimed at places of worship in areas of greatest need, ensuring that every pound of taxpayers' money is leveraged to secure the future of our heritage while supporting the government's wider missions for national renewal and community cohesion.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are considering using the underspend in the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to lift the cap on individual claims in the second half of the 2025–26 financial year.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Government has allocated up to £23 million to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme in 2025/26. This year’s scheme will end on 31 March 2026 or when the budget is exhausted, whichever is the sooner.
Applications can be made throughout the year and are paid on a weekly basis. In order to help applicants plan, we publish an online tracker showing remaining funding. This indicates remaining budget and is not an underspend. We typically see an upsurge in claims towards the end of the financial year.
Altering the scheme's established criteria during the course of the financial year would not be fair on those organisations whose claims have already been paid, or on those who intend to claim later in the year and may find budget unavailable. We do not have plans to amend or remove the cap.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Southwark (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to curb the sale of looted antiquities from Syria on the international market.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is committed to preventing the sale of looted antiquities. Through our International Cultural Heritage Protection programme, we work closely with international partners, including the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Commission for International Justice and Accountability (CIJA), Blue Shield International and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on projects to prevent the trafficking and sale of looted antiquities, including those from Syria.
We have a range of provisions in international and domestic UK law, including criminal offences, to protect cultural objects from unlawful removal and illicit trade. UK authorities work with the UK art market and online selling platforms, such as eBay, to combat the sale of stolen and looted cultural objects. The Government encourages anyone who believes that a cultural object has been stolen or looted to raise it with the appropriate authorities.