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 on places of worship of replacing the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme with the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, in the context of the imposition of VAT on repair and maintenance work from 1 April 2026.

The Department conducted an evaluation of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. 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.

Our evaluation showed that while the current Scheme had many benefits, 80% of respondents said that they would still have carried out the work without the rebate. As we look towards a new fiscal period and the evolving needs of our community, it is essential that government support is deployed to the areas where it can have the greatest impact and where it is needed most.

Over the next four years, the Places of Worship Renewal Fund will invest £92 million capital funding into listed places of worship and is designed to ensure that taxpayer funding is targeted more effectively toward the preservation of our heritage assets.The evaluation did not assess the specific impact of starting the Places of Worship Renewal Fund after the Listed Places of Worship scheme ended.