The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, the Rt Rev George Cassidy, joined faith leaders and volunteers on Wednesday in lobbying Parliament for a fairer deal on water charges.
The meeting, organised by the Scouts, heard evidence about the adverse impact of increases in surface water drainage charges on community and church buildings, from national and local Scout leaders, and from representatives of the Rugby Football Union and the Church of England.
Bishop Cassidy, who chairs the cross-denominational Churches' Legislation Advisory Service, said some local churches were being hard hit by water companies that have introduced site area charging. This was especially the case, he said, in the north and north-west of England.
"If this is rolled out across the country by the other water companies, the Church of England has estimated that it will cost us an extra £15 million – and the total sum facing all faith communities in the country could be around £40 million," he said. "This is a major cause for concern and we are calling on Government and Ofwat to step in.”
The meeting in Westminster follows the call earlier in the week from Shadow Environment Secretary Nick Herbert to the Government to allow water companies to treat voluntary and faith organisations more fairly by reducing their charges.
Bishop Cassidy welcomed the intervention, saying: “At a time when all political parties are quick to applaud the good work carried out by churches and faith groups in promoting community cohesion and voluntary action, such increases in water charges risk diverting scarce resources away from good works in the community towards basic building maintenance."
He urged the Government to introduce exemptions for churches and the voluntary sector to the Flood and Water Management Bill, currently at the consultation stage.
"While we have been assured that the Government does not wish to see churches, scout groups and sports clubs hit hard by these increases, the time has come to move beyond such welcome sentiments towards definitive action," he said.
