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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of financial support for parish choristers.

The Government supports the arts sector, including choirs and singing, through its arm’s-length body, Arts Council England (ACE). For the 2024/25 financial year, ACE has allocated £1.83 million in National Lottery Project Grants to projects classified under 'Choral,' which includes support for parish choirs.

Furthermore, while not exclusively for choirs, the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme offers financial assistance for essential maintenance or works to listed church buildings that may affect the music programme (e.g. repairing an organ). This scheme helps cover the costs and associated VAT for such works.

Additional funding opportunities are available from charities such as the Cathedral Music Trust, The Royal School of Church Music, and The Ouseley Church Music Trust.