from Christian Today
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has said that, should her party win the next election, it would restore a funding scheme for historic churches.
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was first established in 2001 and gave historic churches an exemption from paying VAT on repairs.
Before announcing the end of the scheme, the current government almost halved its budget to £23 million, meaning it ran out of money ahead of its formal closure at the end of March.
The scheme was replaced by the Places of Worship Renewal Fund, but the Church of England has warned that the change could mean “added pressure on local fundraisers and inevitably a drain on other sources of funding”.
The National Churches Trust called the scheme “a lifeline for historic churches” and said the changes put their future at risk.
Scottish church leaders also raised their objections last month, with the Church of Scotland’s Rosie Frew, saying, “The decision to end LPWGS will impact current repair projects as well as ending a scheme which has been vital over many years, and without will add further financial burdens to congregations and the Church as a whole.”