Round Tower Comment in March 2026 edition –
It was almost exactly 25 years ago on April 1 that Gordon Brown, then chancellor of the Exchequer, launched the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
This enabled “listed” churches in the UK to reclaim 20pc Vat on repairs and conservation work. It was simple to administer and over the years proved a highly efficient and effective way to defray part of the costs involved. It was limited to £42m a year, so hardly a drain on the taxpayer. In the past 12 months, the LPWGS was cut again with a total budget of £23m.
But on March 31, 2026, this scheme ended. Instead Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced the Places of Worship Renewal Scheme with a total annual budget of £23m (or £92m) over the next four years for England.
The full rate of Vat from April 1 will now have to be paid by all churches. How many churches in England can possibly be helped with just £23m?
The government needs to re-think this change of policy. Surely it is barking that a museum, which doesn’t charge admission, can reclaim Vat on repairs but a church can’t.
Build a new house, no VAT; repair a medieval church, 20pc VAT. Is that logical or not? And the Treasury awards £18m in grants to Wrexham Football Club in north Wales last December.
Churches. Heritage. Forget it seems the message.
There’s a four-page analysis of the impact of Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s deicsion to scrap the LPWGS (Listed Places of of Worship Grant Scheme).
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