Places of Worship Renewal Fund

5. How parishes can apply for the places of worship renewal fund.

8. What steps the Church of England is taking to ensure that rural churches are aware of the places of worship renewal fund.

The places of worship renewal fund was announced at the start of this year and formally launched in May. Historic England is managing the operation of the new fund on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The first application window closed on 14 June and the second round is expected to follow soon, in September this year.

While the UK Labour Government introduced a £92 million fund for places of worship in England, the scheme does not apply to Scottish parishes now that it has gone from being a VAT rebate to a capital grant. The Scottish Government received the Barnett consequentials. However, no similar scheme was set up, despite the fact that they were told about the change by the UK Government as far back as January 2025. Will the Church Commissioners, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, raise this matter with their Scottish counterparts as a matter of urgency to ensure that Scottish parishes have access to much-needed funding?

The National Church Institutions are very conscious that the new places of worship fund is not available in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. My hon. Friend is correct to say that there has been a conscious decision by the Government to move away from the old VAT rebate scheme to a grants-based system, and he will know that that decision was not made by the Church. The Church has been supporting the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office, as well as churches in Wales and other parts of the UK, and I would be happy to put my hon. Friend in touch with the team in Scotland if that would be helpful. I also urge him to do what all hon. Members should do when they want something to happen: to lobby the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the issue.

There are 124 round-tower churches in Norfolk. In South Norfolk, we have St Peter’s church in Forncett and St Mary & St Walstan church in Bawburgh, to name just two. I have written to all my local churches to make them aware of the fund, but will my hon. Friend help to ensure that all rural churches are encouraged to apply?

What a fantastic question. My hon. Friend champions the beautiful churches across his constituency, and he is absolutely right to highlight both their cultural importance and the opportunities provided by the places of worship renewal fund. I thank him for writing to all his churches to share details about the fund, and I encourage hon. Members across the House to do the same if they are able.

The National Church Institutions have actively encouraged all parishes to make full use of the new fund and share the details as widely as possible through their clergy network, church wardens and so on. I know that they are regularly in touch, through targeted advice, newsletters and engagement with diocesan officers, to make everybody aware of the new capital grant scheme.