BEFORE the Chancellor’s Autumn Budget, the Archbishop of York urged the Government to make the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS) “permanent” and to “lift the cap on claims”.

No extension of the scheme was announced by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in her speech on Wednesday. The Bishop of Ramsbury, in Salisbury diocese, Dr Andrew Rumsey, who is the lead bishop for church buildings, said that the lack of an announcement was “of concern”.

“More than three quarters of our nearly 16,000 church buildings are listed, meaning they are an irreplaceable part of our nation’s heritage, as well as offering extensive community service. I urge that the Government ensures that the Scheme becomes permanent and is extended beyond March 2026,” he said.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) announced in January that the grant scheme, which allows for individual places of worship to reclaim VAT on essential repair and maintenance costs, would be extended for only one year and capped at £23 million, and that individual sites would be eligible for a maximum of £25,000 (News, 24 January).

“The vast majority of fundraising for our churches is done locally by heroic volunteers and we are deeply grateful for all they do. For more than 20 years, they have relied on the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to give that crucial bit of extra help,” Archbishop Cottrell said in a statement issued on Saturday.

“This is a relatively small investment by the Government in buildings that are estimated to have a huge social value. We urge the Government to make the scheme permanent and lift the cap on claims.”

Churches, he said, were “at the heart of our communities — not only as places of worship, but as spaces of warm welcome, history, and hope”.

At the same time, Church House published findings from a survey, conducted by Savanta this month, which examines the public’s relationship with church buildings.

Of the 2018 UK adults polled, 59 per cent agreed that “the Government should help with the cost of repairing and maintaining historic churches.” A greater proportion of the 25- to 34-year-olds agreed with this statement (71 per cent) than the over-65s (49 per cent).

Most of those surveyed — 77 per cent — agreed with the statement: “Historic cathedrals and churches are local and national treasures.”

More than three-quarters of the 25- to 34-year-olds (76 per cent) agreed that “the local church contributes positively to my community” — compared with 53 per cent of both the 18- to 24-year-olds and the over-65s. More men than women (64 per cent compared with 59 per cent) agreed with this statement.

Similarly, those aged 25 to 34 were more likely than the other age groups to agree that “the Church is an important part of British society” and that “Churches provide something special” (74 per cent).

In total, 41 per cent said that they had visited a church or cathedral “simply to find a quiet space for reflection or prayer”. The 18-34s (50 per cent) were more likely than the 35-54s (43 per cent) or over-55s (33 per cent) to have done so.

Of those who said they had contact with their local church (43 per cent), 16 per cent said that this was “through a group, such as toddler group or lunch club”, nine per cent “through a food bank”, and 53 per cent “attending services/worship”.

Archbishop Cottrell said that hundreds of churches had signed up to provide Warm Spaces, providing help to people struggling to pay energy bills. “In some areas they are the only public buildings where people can come and gather together,” he said.

Dr Rumsey said that the results affirmed the high value that the British people put on church buildings as places of service, sanctuary, and heritage. “Their broad appeal and vital role in social welfare underline the case for Governmental support in the form of the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, which we urgently need to continue beyond the end of the current interim scheme in March 2026,” he said.

The Dean of St Albans, the Very Revd Jo Kelly-Moore, who chairs the Association of English Cathedrals, said that scrapping the scheme would have a “hugely negative impact on our cathedrals, many of which have long-term repair and renewal projects costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. . . And yet these buildings, as the survey found, are our nation’s treasure houses. They stand strong at the heart of the nation at times of national sorrow and national celebration and offer a welcome at all times to people of all faiths and none.”

This story was updated on 26 November.