MPs have been urged to lift the £25,000 cap on grants offered to churches under the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, as the funds do not go nearly far enough in many cases.
This is creating uncertainty in local communities, the Church of England added.
The government extended the scheme for another year in January, but substantially reduced the amount of funding available and introduced the £25,000 cap on each grant.
A cross-party debate in Westminster Hall heard how the cap is having a “huge impact” on as many as 260 churches around the country, which are struggling to find the money to begin or continue important repairs.
Marsha de Cordova, MP for Battersea and Second Church Estates Commissioner and one of the debate organisers, said that the current grant scheme should be made permanent and the cap lifted. She also called for a new capital funding scheme to be made available to all listed places of worship, regardless of faith or denomination.
De Cordova noted that her own church, Holy Trinity Clapham is attempting to become more accessible to the local community, but that the £25,000 being offered by the government falls far short of the seven figure fund that is required to complete the undertaking.
She stated that the lack of funds and the lack of certainty about whether even that would be available in the future was preventing a lot of on-the-ground benefits from materialising in local communities.
“[The Church] provides local communities with huge amounts of support, such as advice and advocacy on debt, providing hot meals and sport and social activities," she said.
She went on to say that the lack of certainty is "preventing craft businesses, such as masons and glaziers, from taking on apprentices, as they are unable to guarantee work”.
MPs from across the political divide joined the debate and praised the various benefits that churches bring to their local communities, providing spiritual solace, mental health assistance, food banks and cultural spaces among other things.
