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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Written Statement of 22 January 2026 on Launch of new capital fund for places of worship, HCWS1268, what assessment she has made of the wider community role of places of worship when designing the new funding scheme; and if she will prioritise funding for buildings that provide essential community services beyond worship.

Many places of worship also provide essential community services beyond worship and will consider this as we develop criteria, however we also acknowledge that not all religions use places of worship in this way. We are currently designing the specific criteria for the new scheme.