Government support for places of worship: update

England: The second round of Expressions of Interest for the Places of Worship Renewal Fund opened on Friday 4 September. The deadline for submitting an EOI is Friday 2 October 2026 at 5 pm.

Historic England has published a comprehensive Places of Worship Funding Index, described as “A resource to support places of worship in England to identify potential funders for building-focused projects”.

Northern Ireland: The Department for Communities has published a public consultation on Historic Environment Policy. It closes on 23 October.

Wales: The Welsh Government has announced a call for evidence on Culture and Sport Strategy. Question1 asks, “What is the situation now? What is the current state of play for culture, heritage, the arts, creative industries, sport and physical activity in Wales?” It closes on Friday 18 December at noon. In addition, Welsh places of worship, coordinated by Cadw, are collating data to create a report to submit to the new Welsh Government to describe their contribution to Welsh culture and language. [With thanks to the Historic Religious Buildings Alliance.]

Weddings law reform, England & Wales

On Wednesday, Jake Richards, Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Justice, gave the following reply to a series of similar written questions on the reform of weddings law:

“On 16 July, the Government published the consultation ‘Tying the Knot: Reforming weddings law in England and Wales alongside an impact assessment of the proposed reforms. The impact assessment estimates that the reforms could lead to a 3% increase in the overall number of weddings.

In relation to demand for approved wedding venues, allowing couples to marry in a wider range of locations could change patterns of demand, although the estimated increase in the overall number of weddings may also create additional opportunities for existing venues. We will consider evidence from venues and other businesses submitted through the consultation.

The Government has not yet made a final assessment of the financial impact on local authority registration services. We are continuing to work closely with the General Register Office (GRO) and local authorities on the potential implications.

One of the main four principles underpinning the consultation is to protect against forced, predatory and sham marriages. This Government wants to strengthen safeguards and ensure marriages are not used to gain unfair advantage. We are proposing a more effective system of checks and greater transparency to ensure marriages are entered into freely, with informed consent. The consultation asks questions in order to identify how protections against sham marriage can be enhanced, with improved signposting for couples and training for officiants, for example.

The Government has committed to introduce legislation to reform marriage law when parliamentary time allows.”

A review of the Government consultation by Professor Russell Sandberg – Five Suggestions on Wedding Law Reform – will be published on L&RUK tomorrow.

Richard O’Sullivan Memorial Lecture

Prof Mary Ellen O’Connell, of the University of Notre Dame, will deliver the Richard O’Sullivan Memorial Lecture on Thursday 15 October at 6 pm at The University of Notre Dame (USA) in England, 1-4 Suffolk Street, London SW1Y 4HG. The title of her lecture is There is No Just War: Natural Law Teaching on War and Peace, and it is given with the generous support of the Newman Association:

“Is the Iran War a ‘just war’? This question has sparked a global debate over the meaning and relevance of the venerable Just War theory. The debate began in April when two prominent American Catholics, Pope Leo and Vice President J.D. Vance, exchanged deeply differing positions on war and peace. This lecture is about those differences.

It looks to the origins of the Just War theory, demonstrating how it developed based on natural law, which gives it its authentic, enduring meaning—meaning that is now codified in the United Nations Charter prohibition on the use of force. This context has been largely forgotten. Politicians resort to war using self-serving interpretations of the Charter or assertions that they are acting for reasons above the law. These decisions have brought about the highest number of armed conflicts since World War II. They are also undermining the very rule of law upon which democracy and social harmony depend.”

To attend, contact https://osullivanlecture26.eventbrite.co.uk.

“Bitesize Ecclesiastical Law”

Three upcoming sessions:

• ‘What is the law on funerals?‘ with Jon Baldwin, Registrar of the Diocese of Southwark, Winkworth Sherwood Solicitors: 22 September from 5.30-6.00 pm.
• ‘What is the law of marriage?‘ with Jess Gray, Deputy Registrar of the Dioceses of York and Sodor a& Man (and from 1 September, Registrar of the Diocese of Sheffield), Flint Bishop Solicitors: 13 October from 5.30-6.00 pm.
• ‘What is a canon?‘ with Ven Russell Dewhurst, Archdeacon of Hastings: 17 November from 5.30-6.00 pm.

Cathedrals catch-up

On 28 August we noted that links to the decisions made by the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England (CFCE) for the last five meetings have become available. We have made post facto insertions into the relevant monthly round up posts; starting with the inclusion of the CFCE post of Thursday 11 December 2025, this has been added to each of the ecclesiastical court judgments since the December 2025 round-up. The most recent CFCE meeting was on Thursday 3 September 2026, the determinations of which will be summarized at the end of the month.

Quick links

• Mary Downer and Catherine Pepinster, The Sunday Times: The church with 20 worshippers and an eye-watering bill to go green: on the cost of meeting the C of E’s net-zero targets – and in which David is quoted.
• Fearghas O’Beara, BYU Law: The Rules of Engagement: Identifying the Defining Features of the European Union’s Sui Generis Model of Religion-State Relations.

And finally…

The current post on the Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley blog, Commendation for a Secular Funeral Where the Celebrant Doesn’t Want to be too Depressing shares a page with a side-bar link to L&RUK’s Regulating the funeral industry in England & Wales.