NATIONAL CHURCHES TRUST.
UK church buildings fact sheet
• There are around 20,000 listed cathedrals, churches and chapels in use across the United Kingdom, belonging to a wide range of denominations, together with a number of important listed synagogues, mosques and temples.
• 120,000 people visited a warm space every week in 2023. Most warm spaces are held in church buildings.
• Church buildings are the biggest base for voluntary activity in the UK; there are more food banks in church buildings in Britain than branches of McDonald’s.
• Churches provide £55 billion a year of social and economic good (The House of Good, 2021). This figure is a conservative estimate made by independent economic analysts using the Treasury’s Green Book.
• Churches, chapels and meeting houses in the UK host and run vital support – eg AA meetings, mental health support, parent and toddlers' groups – that would cost the NHS £8.4 billion a year to deliver. The same as employing 230,000 nurses (The House of Good: Health 2024)
• The contribution churches and cathedrals make to our creative industries and to tourism is significant; 9.35 million people visited English cathedrals in 2023, a 17 per cent increase from 2022, with many of the visitors coming from overseas.
• Churches are by far the largest base for amateur music-making by choirs and orchestras, as well as housing thousands of professional performances ranging from pop to classical music each year. They also foster talent; musicians including singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran and leading violinist Tasmin Little began their musical careers by taking part in church music.
• There are 969 places of worship on Historic England’s 2024 Heritage at Risk Register; 959 are churches, chapels, meeting houses and cathedrals. In 2024, 55 churches were added to the list.
• More than 60 per cent of all the MPs in England – 336 MPs – have a church, chapel, meeting house or cathedral on the Historic England Heritage at Risk Register in their constituency.
Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme (LPWGS) fact sheet
• LPWGS is the only regular financial support that the Government provides to help those looking after these buildings. And of course, its effect is simply just to refund the VAT that they have paid to the Exchequer.
• The scheme was introduced in its current form by the Labour Government in 2004 by the Rt Hon Gordon Brown when as Chancellor of the Exchequer he recognised the harm that could be caused to these buildings by other changes to VAT. Since then, it has been renewed by every government in power - but now a new decision needs to be made because the current commitment ends in March 2025.
• Since it was first introduced, more than 13,000 places of worship have been supported in keeping their buildings windproof and watertight, safeguarding the future of some of our most important local heritage.
National Cburches Trust's eveluation of the new Listed Places of Worship Renewal Scheme.
On the 22 January 2026, the UK Government confirmed the end of Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. It will be replaced by a £92 million four-year-fund called the Places of Worship Renewal Fund. Read our analysis below – on what’s been revealed so far, and what must happen for the scheme to be successful in keeping churches open and in use.
Is this fund an increase in funding for historic churches?
No. The £92 million pounds is going to be split across four years, so it works out at £23 million per year. In 2025/2026 the budget for the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was £23 million per year, but in 2024/2025 the budget was £42 million. The funding will actually be a drop in real terms, as it will not rise with inflation.
Will VAT costs on repairs be reclaimable?
We are unsure if VAT costs will be able to be claimed back from the scheme. From 1 April 2026, all repairs and maintenance that take place now at any listed place of worship will be subject to the full VAT costs at 20% as the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme will have ended.
Will the Places of Worship Renewal Fund still help all listed places of worship in England, Scotland, Wales/Cymru and Northern Ireland?
No. The Places of Worship Renewal Fund will still be a fund for all listed places of worship, so churches, chapels, meeting houses and cathedrals as well as synagogues, temples and mosques. However, it will be only available to listed places of worship in England only. Nothing has yet been released about any additional funding or support for places of worship in Scotland, Wales/Cymru or Northern Ireland.
Will it operate in the same way as the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme?
No. The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was essentially ran as a VAT reclaim scheme. It was managed by The Department for Culture, Media and Sport and to claim VAT costs, all listed places of worship would need to do is to submit their receipts online for repairs and maintenance that was carried out. From 2001, when it was set up, to March 2025, listed places of worship could reclaim the full cost of VAT, whereas from March 2025 to April 2025, the Labour Government introduced a cap of £25,000.
When will this new grant come into effect? Will it be available on 1 April, once the Listed Places of Worship Grant scheme officially ends?
Historic England are still working on the details of the Places of Worship Renewal Fund and how they will be implementing it. They are set to share the plan in a few weeks with the Department For Culture, Media and Sport for review.
Here is our analysis of the scheme – and what must happen for it to be successful in helping keep churches open and in use
We have long campaigned for a capital fund scheme for churches. The future of church buildings is the biggest heritage crisis facing the UK. We are thankful that the Government listened to us and have renewed support for churches – this could have ended on April 1 – but MPs and policymakers have reconsidered.
However, this should be seen as a first step in the process. It’s imperative we get this right so that historic places of worship will benefit from the new scheme. And there’s issues around tax that must be addressed and made fairer across the board.
- Churches depend overwhelmingly on volunteers; the scheme will need to be simple, accessible and predictable
We are concerned that this grant application process will be burdensome for churches, many of which rely on volunteers and do not have paid staff who can fill out expressions of interest and funding applications. Through our Support Officers, who work on the ground in every UK nation, we know that many churches have been put off applying to grant funders, such as The National Lottery Fund, because of the long application process with no guarantee of success.
- Wales/Cymru, Scotland and Northern Ireland must not be neglected – places of worship there need support too
We understand that Historic England has a remit of supporting places of worship in England only. The Department For Culture, Media and Sport must urgently work out how they can deliver support in Wales/Cymru, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- Support must be timely and able to help churches in emergencies
The new grant scheme needs to work as an agile way, so that it does not slow down urgent repair works that are needing to be made, particularly following bad weather and storms.
The big question – what about VAT?
In their announcement, the Department For Culture, Media and Sport said they wanted to: “bring these important buildings into line with other heritage assets. [the new fund] will give them access to the same level of financial support from the government as historic houses, monuments and other heritage sites.
However, from 1 April listed places of worship will have to bear the full cost of VAT on repairs. This brings to an end a system that has operated successfully for over 20 years, where places of worship could reclaim their VAT costs. It means that in future local people will have to raise money not just to repair roofs and towers but to pay a 20% tax to the Government.
Churches, unlike historic houses, are the home to a whole range of activities that support the local community including foodbanks, mental health support, and community groups.
Museums and galleries offering free admission don’t have to pay VAT on repairs, but in future churches will.
What the Government must do to make things fair across the board
The Government should ensure that all listed places of worship across the UK can reclaim all VAT costs on repairs and maintenance of their buildings. This brings them in line with other heritage assets, such as museums.
It is not right that it costs 0% to demolish a listed church, when from 1 April listed churches will now have to pay 20% tax to maintain the building.
Churches across the UK save the NHS costs of £8.3 billion a year from community support they host and run in their buildings. A small thing for the UK Government, but what would make a huge difference to churches, is to remove this tax burden.
Next steps
Please consider writing to your MP about these changes – especially if they will impact your church, chapel, meeting house or cathedral.
At the National Churches Trust we will continue to speak up for places of worship in every nation, to help keep them open and in use. Thank you.