Asked by: Lee Pitcher (Labour - Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the ability of places of worship to reclaim VAT on repairs and maintenance works following the replacement of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme with the Places of Worship Renewal Fund.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department has not made an assessment of the ability of places of worship to reclaim VAT following the ending of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will have a budget of £23 million per year. The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will award grants for projects to cover capital works, rather than just the VAT element of a project, as is the case with the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. In some cases the amount granted could be greater than just the VAT element currently funded.
Asked by: Lee Pitcher (Labour - Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of ending the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme on (a) listed religious buildings and (b) their congregations.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
While we have confirmed the extension of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme until 31 March 2026, the future funding of the scheme after this date is being assessed and considered as we work through the output of the Spending Review and the Departmental business planning process.