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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support owners of listed buildings with the cost of essential repairs.

DCMS works with Arm's-Length Bodies, such as Historic England, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and other partner organisations to support owners of listed buildings in a range of ways including through advice, guidance, and supporting heritage skills which are required to make some repairs.

The owners of heritage buildings are ultimately responsible for the condition of their property, but there are wider schemes available in certain cases, particularly where there are wider public benefits:

Historic England’s Repair Grants for Heritage at Risk Scheme which provides grants for the repair and conservation of listed buildings, scheduled monuments, and registered parks and gardens. This funding is specifically aimed at sites on the Heritage at Risk Register, focusing on urgent repairs to prevent the loss or damage of important features.

• The National Lottery Heritage Fund offers grants between £10,000 and £10 million to projects that connect people and communities to the UK’s heritage. This could include covering repair work as part of a wider project.

• The up to £23 million Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme gives grants of up to £25,000 covering the VAT on repairs to listed buildings used as places of worship.

• The Museum Estate and Development Fund is funded by DCMS and delivered through Arts Council England. This provides funding towards urgent infrastructure and maintenance needs which are beyond the scope of day-to-day budgets. The fund is for accredited museums in England, many of which are in landmark, listed buildings. Round 5 of the fund is currently in progress, with £25m of funding available.