Financial support for listed places of worship

The details of future financial support for listed places of worship continue to emerge in dribs and drabs. In reply to a written question from Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower, Lab) asking the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of recently announced changes to capital funding for places of worship on places of worship in Wales, the Minister of State, Ian Murray, said this:

“The Places of Worship Renewal Fund is focused solely on England because heritage policy is devolved. Future capital funding for Wales is supported through Barnett allocations, which provide proportional funding to the Welsh Government. As these funds are not ring-fenced, it is for the devolved administrations to determine how this funding is allocated and spent according to their priorities. Therefore, we do not plan to assess the impact of this capital funding for places of worship in Wales.

This contrasts with the previous Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS), which operated UK-wide as a VAT-rebate scheme. Tax policy is not devolved.

To ensure continued support across the UK, we are working closely with sector funders to maximise opportunities for all nations. The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) remains a vital resource, offering grants across the UK and investing £100 million over three years in places of worship. This includes a strategic initiative designed to provide targeted support and build capacity, ensuring that places of worship in Wales have access to investment.”

Religious education in Northern Ireland

On Tuesday, Paul Givan, Minister of Education, made an oral statement on religious education in light of the judgment of the Supreme Court in JR87, Re Application for Judicial Review [2025] UKSC 40, in which the Court upheld the judgment of Colton J at first instance that religious education and collective worship in the school of the anonymised child applicant were not conveyed in an objective, critical, and pluralistic manner, contrary to Article 9 and Article 2 of Protocol 1 (ECHR). He also published new guidance on withdrawal from RE and collective worship in all grant-aided schools.

He told the Northern Ireland Assembly that, in light of the judgment, he had decided that it was necessary for the Department to revise the core syllabus and had published Terms of Reference for the Review of the RE Syllabus. He had also concluded that it was “neither desirable nor easily achievable to bring about fundamental changes to collective worship” and was therefore publishing guidance “to support schools to meet these requirements and to ensure clarity and consistency across all schools”. Finally, because the Supreme Court had criticised the current lack of inspection of Religious Education and collective worship, he intended to bring forward legislation in the current Assembly term “to ensure robust, transparent and accountable inspection arrangements for both Religious Education and arrangements for withdrawal”. [With thanks to Russell Sandberg, who comments on the statement here].

Abortion and the Crime and Policing Bill

On Monday, the House of Lords debated an amendment to Clause 191 of the Crime and Policing Bill, which would decriminalise abortion for women acting in relation to their own pregnancy, even up to full term, in England and Wales. The amendment to retain the reference to the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929, so that the deliberate destruction of a viable unborn child would remain an offence, was withdrawn [With thanks to the Religion Media Centre].

Religious slaughter

In reply to a written question from Adam Dance (Yeovil, Lib Dem) asking whether the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is taking steps to increase the proportion of livestock in the UK that are pre-stunned before slaughter, Dame Angela Eagle, Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs, said this:

“Regulations require that animals must be stunned prior to slaughter so that they are unconscious and insensible to pain. The only exception to the requirement to stun is where animals are slaughtered in accordance with religious rites. The Government would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter, but we respect the rights of Jews and Muslims to eat meat prepared in accordance with their religious beliefs.

For sheep and goats, the Government supports an industry-led initiative called the Demonstration of Life Protocol, which provides assurance for Muslim consumers that the stunning of these animals is compatible with halal slaughter requirements, while protecting the welfare of the animals involved and supporting opportunities for trade” (emphasis added).

Ecclesiastical Law Society

Upcoming online “bite-size events”:

• 10 February: What is the Anglican Communion?
• 10 March: What is a Diocese?
• 21 Apri:l: What is an Archbishop?

All start at 17:30 and are free to attend; further details are available on the ELS website, here.

Quick links

• Jelle Creemers, BYU Law: Clashing Vulnerabilities? Revisiting Executief van de Moslims in België and Others v. Belgium with Vulnerability Theory: on the banning of religious slaughter in Flanders and Wallonia.
• Diocese of Winchester: Appointment of a Chancellor for the Diocese of Winchester: deadline for applications 9 March; interview date 9 April.
• James Walters, LSE Religion and Global Society: Reshaping Religious Education in the UK.