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 potential impact o changes to the Listed Places of Worship Scheme on the number of places of worship in England and Wales.

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme is a £23m scheme that gives grants covering VAT on eligible works. We estimate that changes to the Scheme this year, including the introduction of a 25k cap on claims, affected around 6% of claims as most claims are under £5,000. The Department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to the scheme on the number of places of worship in England and Wales. However, the Department has commissioned an evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme which will be published soon.