Historic places of worship left stranded as Government money runs out before deadline and new scheme not up and running.
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was set to run until 31 March 2026, but the £23 million pot the Department for Culture, Media and Sport [DCMS] put aside for the Scheme has run out – six weeks before the end of the financial year – leaving hundreds of churches in the lurch.
The budget was slashed for the year 25/26 by the Government – from £42 million to just £23 million with the Government confident the funding would be enough– despite concerns from heritage charities, churches and denominations. The funding has been shown to be inadequate. The Scheme has run successfully and had been renewed with a budget of £42 million by the last six Prime Ministers.
What about the new funding?
The new Places of Worship Renewal Fund has not been set up yet – leaving churches with no idea about what support they can expect to receive from Government. DCMS announced the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme changes in March last year. Why is a new scheme not up and running already? We now are likely to have a significant period where there is no Government support available to churches – something that was entirely avoidable.
The new Fund is just a £23 million a year – and will be subject to tax. The demand for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme and the money running out show that this is not enough to protect and save historic places of worship.
"Caught short"
The future of churches is our biggest heritage challenge. Almost 1000 churches are on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. 1 in 20 churches in the UK need a new roof or gutters this year [National Churches Survey 2025]. Yet the Government have been caught short – they have no scheme or funding in place to help keep churches open. They have withdrawn help from churches when they need it most.
And the biggest blow of all? All listed places of worship now have a 20% tax imposed on them. Any repair is going to cost 20% more.
“All the money available in the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme ran out today, six weeks before the scheme is set to end. This leaves potentially hundreds of churches in the lurch," says Sir Philip Rutnam, Chair of the National Churches Trust.
“Today, 21,000 historic places of worship, the vast majority churches, will start bearing the cost of new taxes. After 25 successful years, the Government has removed a lifeline for churches which was introduced by a Labour Chancellor in 2001, allowing them to reclaim VAT on repairs. With 1000’s of churches at risk, this is yet another blow to our national heritage as many will now be unable to pay for urgent repairs.”
