Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has made representations to the Scottish Government on support for listed places of worship in Scotland, including Sacred Heart Parish Church in Cumbernauld, that have been unable to access equivalent funding to that available in England.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

We want to see Scotland's building and cultural heritage protected for future generations. Whilst heritage policy is a devolved matter, both Scotland Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport Ministers are due to discuss this matter with officials from the Church of Scotland in the coming weeks.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether funding allocated to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme in England is treated as comparable expenditure for the purposes of calculating Barnett consequentials for Scotland.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

Yes - funding allocated to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme in England is treated as comparable expenditure for the purposes of calculating Barnett consequentials for Scotland.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the financial pressures facing listed places of worship in Scotland, including Sacred Heart Parish Church in Cumbernauld, in the context of changes to heritage and capital funding streams.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Heritage funding is devolved, however listed places of worship in Scotland have benefitted from VAT rebate grants from the UK-wide Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which ran from 2001 to the end of this financial year.

The Department conducted an evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. Our evaluation showed that while it had many benefits, 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate. The evaluation included an extensive survey of current and past scheme users and is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/evaluation-of-the-listed-places-of-worship-scheme-final-report. We are aware that grants from the scheme will have benefited many recipients across Scotland, with a total of 1,513 Listed Places of Worship grant claims to a value of £6.9m being awarded to Scottish applicants since August 2022.

The Government has recently announced the Places of Worship Renewal Fund in England which will provide upfront capital support in the areas where it is needed most.

At Spending Reviews, the Devolved Governments generally receive Barnett consequentials as a proportion of overall departmental settlements, not specific funding lines or programmes. Barnett consequentials were confirmed taking into account the overall DCMS allocation, which includes funding for the Places of Worship Renewal fund. Decisions on the allocation of this funding are then for the Devolved Governments to take.

PANS+ Scotland

30th anniversary of the Dunblane Primary School tragedy

Found: Tonia Antoniazzi (Chair); Claire Hanna; Simon Hoare; Mike Kane; Alicia Kearns; Mr Paul Kohler; Katrina Murray

Found: Tonia Antoniazzi (Chair); Claire Hanna; Simon Hoare; Mike Kane; Alicia Kearns; Mr Paul Kohler; Katrina Murray

Found: (10.3%) Mr Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat, Wimbledon) (added 13 Nov 2025) 5 of 8 (62.5%) Katrina Murray

Found: (Chair); Sorcha Eastwood; Claire Hanna; Simon Hoare; Adam Jogee; Mike Kane; Mr Paul Kohler; Katrina Murray