A busy week for misinformation and misdirection…

… and on 21 July, The Gazette carried the following Proclamation by the King: “Whereas, if the England men’s football team win the FIFA World Cup in the year 2026, to mark the achievement, We consider it desirable that Friday the twenty-fourth day of July in the year 2026 should be a bank holiday in England“. Given that the overall cost in lost production in England would have been about £2bn, some might be tempted to add. “Fortunately for the UK economy, England lost“!

England: financial support for listed places of worship

Historic England has published the Places of Worship Funding Index, which it describes as a resource to support places of worship in England to identify potential funders for building-focused projects. We understand that it was researched by Good Faith Partnership and has been approved by DCMS.

The guidance is intended primarily as support for those who have submitted Expressions of Interest to the Places of Worship Renewal Fund and are now being advised whether they are being invited to submit a full application.  DCMS hopes that the guidance will help them to find the funding they need, whether they are offered a PWRF grant or not.

Scotland: financial support for listed places of worship

On Thursday, the Scottish Government answered written question S7W-01271 from Liam Kerr (North East Scotland, Con), asking the Scottish Government “whether any Barnett consequential funding has arisen from the introduction of the Places of Worship Renewal Fund in England, which replaced the UK-wide Listed Places of Worship Scheme”. Màiri McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic, replied as follows:

“The Scottish Government has not identified any Barnett consequential funding specifically linked to the introduction of the Places of Worship Renewal Fund in England.

Under the Barnett formula, changes to the Scottish Government’s funding are calculated at the level of overall UK Government departmental spending, rather than individual programmes or schemes. UK Government ministers have confirmed that the funding for the Places of Worship Renewal Fund is included within the wider Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) settlement, and that Barnett consequentials are applied to the total departmental allocation rather than to specific funding lines.

Decisions on how to allocate funding received through the block grant are a matter for the Scottish Government, in line with devolved responsibilities. The final decision to end the UK-wide scheme was also only confirmed to the Scottish Government after the 2026-27 Scottish Budget was set, further limiting Scottish Ministers’ options. However, Ministers will continue to seek options”.

No comment.

Civil marriage followed by Church of England service

The potential cost of a religious ceremony following one at a register office has been a discussion topic on X/Twitter. The Church of England web page Wedding Blessings notes “Many couples who have had a civil wedding decide they would like to dedicate their marriage to God in church soon afterwards. The Church of England service is called a Service of Prayer and Dedication, which is often known as ‘a blessing’”. It  further states:

• “It is a simple service acknowledging the commitment already made between husband and wife during a civil ceremony and asks for God’s blessing and guidance in your new life together.
• Because it is not a marriage service, banns are not required, there is no exchange of rings and there is no signing of the official marriage paperwork during the service.
• It can be designed to have a similar feel to a wedding with hymns, readings, flowers and even bells if you would like that, or it can be an intimate, low key service. The service itself has no statutory fee (because it is not a legal service) but there may be some costs, such as flowers, bells and use of an organist. These would be charged at the church’s local rate.
• It is possible to have a blessing in any church of one’s choice, provided the church and the vicar are free on your preferred date. Many couples have opted for this service where one or both of them is remarrying after divorce” (see s8(2) Matrimonial Causes Act 1965).

UK Government Ministers holding the “faith” portfolio

Also on X/Twitter, Richard Chapman has compiled a list of the UK Government Ministers holding the “faith” portfolio since 2005,  Bs Warsi being the first to have the formal title of “Minister for Faith”. It seems we are currently without a Minister for Faith, Lord Lemos having been moved to the Ministry of Justice after 40 days in post. So it will be twelve in ten years, once the new one is appointed.

Progress on safeguarding in the Church of England

The iNEQUE group has published its Independent Safeguarding Audits of Church of England Dioceses and Cathedrals 2025, based on an audit of ten cathedrals.  While it identifies “much good practice” and suggests that “Across most staff and worshipping communities, arrangements have improved and a safeguarding culture is becoming embedded”, it notes that “inhibitors of progress” remain. The problem, it concludes, is not senior clergy, most of whom “demonstrate a genuine desire for change”: rather, the problems

“… are structural and, in certain cases, institutional. They arise from a small group of influential senior officers at the diocesan level and certain individuals within the national Church. This resistance manifests in unhelpful and frustrating ways, such as a readiness to hide behind exceptionalism, canon law, tradition, and procedural defensiveness”.

Perhaps its most radical recommendation on governance is this:

“Each diocese should formally separate the Bishops’ Council from the Diocesan Board of Finance, establishing clearly distinct memberships, terms of reference, and governance agendas. The DBF, as the principal charitable trustee body, must operate in full accordance with Charity Commission requirements rather than ecclesiastical convention. Where a Bishop currently chairs the DBF, the diocese should transition to chairmanship by a suitably qualified independent lay person”.

James Macintyre comments in the Church Times, here.

CFCE Determinations

Our round-up of ecclesiastical judgments for July will be posted on Friday. The dates of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England may be found by scrolling down to the bottom of the page to Cathedrals Fabric Commission.  The programme for 2026 is here, and the next meeting will be on Thursday 3 September 2026.

However, there has been a continuing delay, year-on-year, in reporting the matters considered (Form 8s) and the outcome of CFCE meetings (Form 10s). As noted in 2023, we have adopted the policy of posting only the links to the latest reported CFCE meeting; at the time of writing this was nine months ago, for the meeting held on Thursday 22 October 2025.

Quick Links

• Elizabeth Rough, House of Commons Library Research Briefing, Changes to the law on abortion in England and Wales (22 July 2026).

And finally…

On 25 July, The Guardian included The UK has its first Catholic PM – but don’t expect a US-style religious culture war to follow; this concluded:

“But Britain’s growing religious pluralism sits uneasily alongside the constitution. Prof Russell Sandberg, an expert in law and religion, said legislation still prevents practising Catholics and Jews from advising the Crown on Church of England appointments.

‘In practice, the role of the prime minister in appointing bishops has declined’, Sandberg said. ‘That said, even the presentation of one name by Burnham would breach the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829.’ Those responsibilities could be delegated to another minister, he added.

While right-wing Christian nationalist politics does not have the same influence in Britain as in the US, Sandberg said right-wing populists could, in government, ‘use and abuse the legal framework that favours Christianity to roll back the clock on our legal rights’.”