The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme again

On Tuesday, there was a debate in Westminster Hall on churches and religious buildings – focusing mostly on the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme – initiated by the Second Church Estates Commissioner, Marsha De Cordova (Battersea, Lab) and John Glen (Salisbury, Con). Ms De Cordova highlighted the role that churches and religious buildings played in communities, not just as places of worship, but in their broader impact on arts, heritage and skills development and their contribution to local economies and environmental goals. She raised concerns about recent cuts to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, including the reduced funding pot and the new cap on claims. She also urged the creation of a new capital fund for listed places of worship of all faiths and asked for a meeting with herself and representatives of some of the churches affected by the changes to find long-term solutions.

John Glen (Salisbury, Con) echoed her concerns and stressed the Scheme’s importance in maintaining historic buildings and enabling continued community outreach. He noted the Scheme’s effectiveness, particularly in covering VAT on essential repairs, but warned that the new £25,000 cap and funding uncertainty threatened long-term projects and financial planning. In a later intervention, he suggested that any underspend on the Scheme might be carried forward into the next financial year

In reply, Jim McMahon, Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, acknowledged the central role of churches and religious buildings in community life. He confirmed that the Scheme would continue with a reduced budget of £23m from 2025, arguing that this should meet demand since most claims were under the new £25,000 cap. He also noted that the National Lottery Heritage Fund has committed to disbursing around £100 million between 2023 and 2026 to support places of worship, and in exceptional circumstances, listed places of worship might also be eligible for Historic England’s heritage at risk funding. He agreed to look at the point about in-year underspends, but emphasised that future funding was a matter for the Spending Review, “and every Department across Government will make a submission to that”.

We expect the outcome of the Spending Review on 11 June.

Assisted dying

On Tuesday, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, a private Member’s bill introduced by Liam McArthur (Orkney, LibDem), passed its Stage One vote in the Scottish Parliament by 70 to 54.

On Friday, the Commons began the report stage of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a private Member’s bill introduced by Kim Leadbeater (Spen Valley, Lab) which extends to England and Wales. The debate was adjourned and will be resumed on 13 June.

Charity law

The Charity Commission has issued the Islamic Centre of England Limited with a formal Order under s.84 of the Charities Act 2011 requiring the trustees, inter alia, to provide rigorous oversight of future speakers and online activity by the charity. The Commission opened an inquiry into the Islamic Centre of England in November 2022 to investigate serious governance concerns. It appointed the Interim Manager in May 2023 and, in parallel with her work, continued to investigate concerns about the running of the charity.

The Section 84 Order requires the trustees to take a range of actions to improve the charity’s operations, governance and financial oversight, with clear deadlines for compliance. The trustees are instructed to ensure that all religious services, speakers and events further the objects of the charity and are in its best interests, complying with due diligence processes put in place by the Interim Manager. The trustees are also required to ensure that the charity’s website and social media content are exclusively in furtherance of the charity’s purposes and that trustees and staff document their decisions appropriately.

Rupert Lowe MP and Islam

In a written question to the Secretary of State for Justice, Rupert Lowe (Great Yarmouth, Ind) asked “if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban Sharia courts”. Sarah Sackman, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, replied as follows on 14 May:

“The Government has no plans to regulate or restrict religious processes (such as sharia courts) where all parties consent to those processes. This is consistent with Britain’s long history of freedom of worship and religious tolerance.

Sharia courts are not part of the judicial system in England and Wales.”

In a written question to the Home Secretary, he asked “what data her Department holds on the prevalence of (a) forced marriage, (b) domestic abuse and (c) educational disadvantage affecting Muslim women; and what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the (i) cultural and (ii) religious barriers that prevent these women from seeking (A) legal and (B) social support.

To which the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, replied:

“The Crime Survey for England and Wales for the year ending March 2024 estimates that 5.2% of Muslim women experienced domestic abuse in the last year, compared to a prevalence rate of 6.6% for the adult female population as a whole. In 2023, the Home Office commissioned a feasibility study to examine whether it is possible to produce robust prevalence estimates for forced marriage. We are currently considering the next steps and will set these out in due course. The Home Office does not collect data related to the educational disadvantage…”

So domestic abuse of Muslim women was lower than for the general population.

And finally…I

Magna Carta discovery: The BBC has reported that a manuscript once considered to be an unofficial copy of Magna Carta is now believed to be a genuine version and “one of the world’s most valuable documents”, according to UK academics. Harvard Law School paid $27.50 (then about £7) for it in 1946 and for years it has remained in its library, its true identity unknown. However, two professors of mediaeval history have concluded that it is an extraordinarily rare and lost original copy of Magna Carta from 1300, in the reign of King Edward I, that could be worth millions. Professor David Carpenter from King’s College London began analysing it after seeing digitised images of it on the US university’s website. Professor Nicholas Vincent of the University of East Anglia worked with Professor Carpenter in establishing the Harvard document’s authenticity and provenance. Within the UK, two accredited versions of the original 1215 Magna Carta are held at the British Library, and one each in Lincoln Castle and in Salisbury Cathedral. It was subsequently reissued by later Monarchs, and there are several later authenticated 13th-century copies.

And finally…II

[However, pedants would point out that in Latin, “carta” is a second declension feminine noun, the plural of which is “cartae”]