Government urged to retain VAT grants as new national survey reveals deep public attachment to historic churches
The future of Britain’s church architecture — and the community services housed within it — has entered a moment of real uncertainty. A new survey conducted by Savanta for the Church of England indicates that millions of people continue to rely on their local church for spiritual, social, and humanitarian support. Yet these same buildings now face the possible end of the Listed Places of Worship Grant (LPWG), the only scheme preventing VAT from overwhelming essential repair budgets. With the interim funding arrangement due to end in March 2026 and the available annual grant already reduced by almost half, more than 260 churches and cathedrals report that their repair projects are now at risk.
National contact with churches
The Savanta survey found that 43 per cent of UK adults had contact with their local church within the past year. Of these, 53 per cent did so for worship and services, but nearly seven million people engaged through community support: parent–toddler groups, lunch clubs, Warm Spaces, community cafés, and food provision¹. The findings report that 2.8 million people — 4 per cent of the UK population — used a church-based food bank in the past year².
This reflects the enormous scale of church-based welfare. Current figures show that the Church of England’s parishes run or support 31,300 social-action projects, including nearly 8,000 food banks³. These projects represent both a continuity of Christian charitable tradition and, for many communities, the only dependable support infrastructure.
Historic churches as national treasures
The poll also revealed a broad cultural recognition of the nation’s ecclesiastical heritage. Seventy-seven per cent of respondents described historic churches and cathedrals as “local and national treasures,” while 41 per cent had visited one simply for quiet reflection or prayer⁴. Strikingly, this figure rises to 50 per cent among those aged 18 to 34, suggesting that younger adults still instinctively regard churches as sanctuaries in an unsettled age.
The Church of England is responsible for 45 per cent of all Grade I listed buildings in the UK, with more than 12,500 listed church structures requiring continual care and repair⁵. These buildings serve as living centres of worship, repositories of national memory, and vital community hubs.
Threat to the Listed Places of Worship Grant
The LPWG scheme — introduced in 2001 under Chancellor Gordon Brown — refunds VAT paid on eligible repair works above £1,000⁶. In early 2025, DCMS announced a temporary arrangement reducing the available annual funding from £42 million to £23 million, imposing a £25,000 cap per building, and warning that the scheme is due to end in March 2026 without any confirmed replacement⁷.
The consequences are substantial. The Church of England estimates that around 260 churches and cathedrals already report essential projects at risk because of the imposed cap and rising costs⁸. Parishes with long-term conservation projects face severe uncertainty.
In Chorley, the 800-year-old St Laurence Church, historically linked to the Mayflower, was forced to postpone major roof repairs after the cap rendered the works financially unviable. The delay has resulted in additional costs running into hundreds of thousands of pounds, diverting resources from the church’s “Wellness Hub,” a centre offering free hot meals, food parcels, debt counselling, life-skills courses, and bereavement support⁹. Similar concerns have arisen at St Levan Church in Cornwall — a site of Anglo-Saxon origin and long-standing pilgrimage — where roof repairs may stall entirely if the scheme lapses¹⁰.
Church leaders call for renewal
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, emphasised the civic and spiritual importance of these spaces:
“Our churches are at the heart of our communities — not only as places of worship, but as spaces of warm welcome, history, and hope… For more than 20 years, they have relied on the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme to give that crucial bit of extra help.”¹¹
The Bishop of Ramsbury, Andrew Rumsey, stressed that the survey affirms the public’s high valuation of churches as “places of service, sanctuary and heritage.”¹² And Jo Kelly-Moore, Dean of St Albans and Chair of the Association of English Cathedrals, called the threatened closure a “hugely negative” development for cathedrals with long-term repair programmes costing hundreds of thousands of pounds. These buildings, she noted, serve as “treasure houses” of national identity, witness, and welcome¹³.
In July 2025, the DCMS Commons Select Committee recommended that the LPWG be made permanent and that the cap be lifted after reviewing evidence from the Church of England and heritage experts¹⁴. Yet no response has been issued, and the March deadline approaches.
A moment of national decision
As Advent approaches and churches prepare to welcome thousands for Christmas worship, music, and community support, the fate of Britain’s ecclesiastical heritage sits at a crossroads. Without renewed Government commitment, centuries of sacred architecture — and the essential social services they shelter — face avoidable decline.
The survey’s findings demonstrate clearly that the British people still recognise the irreplaceable value of their churches. The question that remains is whether the Government will do the same.
¹ Savanta, Church Contact Poll, fieldwork 15–16 November 2025, commissioned by the Church of England (published 20 November 2025).
² Ibid.
³ Church of England, Statistics for Mission and Social Action (latest published figures, 2025).
⁴ Savanta, Church Contact Poll, 2025.
⁵ Church of England, Heritage and Buildings Data (2025).
⁶ HM Treasury & DCMS, Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme: Policy Background, 2001.
⁷ DCMS, Interim Funding Arrangement Notice for LPWG, early 2025.
⁸ Church of England, Press Office Statement, 20 November 2025.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Statement by Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, Church of England Press Office, 20 November 2025.
¹² Statement by Bishop Andrew Rumsey, Church of England Press Office, 20 November 2025.
¹³ Statement by Jo Kelly-Moore, Association of English Cathedrals, 20 November 2025.
¹⁴ DCMS Commons Select Committee, Report on the Protection of Built Heritage, July 2025.
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