CHURCH buildings are “vital community assets contributing to heritage, to social cohesion, and to local economies”, the House of Lords has heard.
Several peers who were contributing to a “Places of Worship Renewal Fund” debate last week praised parishes for what they brought to the life of the nation — but also took the opportunity to emphasise how important VAT relief and grants had become.
Baroness Prentis (Conservative), referring to her daughter’s recent wedding in Oxfordshire, said that the “bells rang, the bridesmaids looked beautiful, and the church was immaculate. It was a perfect setting for a happy day. . . Our church plays an important part in village life.”
She continued: “The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme allowed us to apply to reclaim the VAT costs on the cost of repairs, with a fairly straightforward application process. About 60 per cent of all listed places of worship in the UK have used the scheme in the last ten years. That is why previous governments funded it with a stable budget of about £42 million.”
That fund had now been cut to £23 million, she said, with no rise with inflation and a new cap on grants of £25,000 (News, 22 May). She appealed for VAT to be reclaimable once again. “The Government should not tax this worthy work, which is done on behalf of us all.”
The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, said: “Churches are cornerstones of our communities. It is hard to overstate the significance they hold to people up and down the country, irrespective of faith. They are not only places of worship but vital community assets contributing to heritage, to social cohesion, and to local economies.”
Lady Prentis referred to “shortcomings to this new fund”: fewer churches were being supported, it was restricted only to England, and it was also, she suggested, more concentrated on urban areas than on rural areas where “churches are often the only public building for miles.”
She continued: “The financial challenges facing cathedrals and church buildings, and those who care for them, are growing. . . Many congregations are now small, and the burden of upkeep increasingly falls on communities with limited resources.”
She urged the Government to implement “a strategic long-term funding approach . . . which recognises that greater stability enables greater planning, better outcomes, and, ultimately, better value for money”.
Baroness Wilcox (Labour), speaking of her “own church, St Woolos’ Cathedral, in Newport”, said that it was “a place where people gather, where support is distributed, where community is built and sustained. In every meaningful sense, it is a civic asset.”
Baroness Gill (Labour) was more positive about “the renewal fund of £92 million of capital funding over four years [to] address the challenging state of repairs of some of our oldest buildings in disrepair”, and said that “funding priority will be to those areas of high deprivation”. She mentioned “notable older buildings belonging to other faiths that will qualify, including 27 synagogues, 15 mosques, seven Sikh gurdwaras, and five Buddhist temples”.
Baroness Bakewell (Lib Dem) also spoke out for rural parishes, for churches that were not listed as being disadvantaged by the proposals, and for the views of local communities. “If a church seems likely to close, there is general outcry among the population it serves,” she said. “Churches are an important part of the fabric of society and should not be left to crumble into decay.”
Lord Parkinson (Conservative) questioned the scheme’s application and scoring criteria. He had come from a trustees’ meeting of the Churches Conservation Trust — “the biggest user of the old scheme. In effect, the ending of the tax arrangements now means a tax bill in the region of £300,000 for a charity that is funded by both Church and State to look after these buildings for the good of the community.”
Responding on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Baroness Twycross acknowledged the way in which places of worship “provide services well beyond their congregations”. The “renewal fund will target places facing double disadvantage”, she said: “the highest levels of deprivation and the greatest need for investment”.
She continued: “Care of our places of worship is a significant challenge, and, in the Government’s view, it needs to be a shared endeavour. I will talk to the Church of England about how we, the Church, the Lottery, and others can work together to support these buildings.”