The Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee has published the Government response to its Third Report of Session 2026–27, Protecting built heritage (HC 144). On the specific issue of support for places of worship, the response was as follows:

“[Committee] Recommendation:

We recommend that the government ensures that overall funding available through the Places of Worship Renewal Fund is at least as generous in real terms as the level of support provided through the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme prior to its reductions in budget and the introduction of per-site caps, to prevent any reduction in the number and scale of essential repair projects. The government must also ensure that the eligibility criteria for the Places of Worship Renewal Fund strike an appropriate balance between measures of deprivation and the heritage value of buildings. The government should provide an update on the implementation and early progress of the scheme in its response to this report and should write to the committee again on the matter at six and 12 months thereafter (paragraph 55).

Response:

In May this Government launched the Places of Worship Renewal Fund which provides £92 million capital funding (£23 million per year) to our historic places of worship. Funding is targeted towards places of double disadvantage and means funding is going to the places that need it most. Our evaluation of the previous Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme showed that 80% of beneficiaries said the works would have been carried out without the rebate.

Our listed places of worship stand at the heart of our communities, not just for worshippers but also because of the vital services they provide to the wider community such as food banks, or as spaces for community use, music rehearsal and events or keeping cool in hot weather. Despite the fiscal challenges this Government inherited, we were able to extend the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme for an additional year in 2025/26 and made the difficult decision to reduce the budget to £23 million. However, as an untargeted VAT rebate that operated on a first-come, first-served basis the benefits did not always reach the places where it was needed most.

We have allocated an annual budget of £23 million to PWRF. The Scheme targets funding towards the communities that need it most, enabling the funding to support works that otherwise would not happen. Specifically we are targeting communities that face ‘double disadvantage’ as measured by the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and Community Needs Index (CNI). We note the Committee’s recommendation on ensuring a balance between deprivation and heritage need. To be eligible for PWRF funding buildings must be listed as being of special architectural or historic interest.

The funding criteria for the scheme also consider urgency of repair and risk of loss, however applications will be prioritised according to deprivation. We will write to the Committee to update on the Fund’s progress 6 and 12 months from the submission of this report, and provide an update after the first grants are announced.”