Dear Friend and Resident,
Please help me oppose the Labour government’s recent and damaging cap on the amount of VAT that our Churches can reclaim on essential repair work, and the decision to extend VAT relief for one more year only until the end of March 2026.
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS) needs to be re-instated at its previous level and made permanent.
I have written to the Rt Hon Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, urging her to scrap the cap on the amount of VAT Churches can claim back on essential maintenance which came into effect on the 1st April of this week. I have also urged her to give our Churches certainty that the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme, set to end in March 2026, will be permanently re-instated at its lower level (see letter below).
I am sure you will agree that the LPWGS is a vital measure which has enabled thousands of churches and other places of worship to be preserved for future generations. Here in Southend West and Leigh, many Churches have received grants under this scheme, including our wonderful Grade 1 listed Civic Church of St Mary’s, Prittlewell and our Grade 2 listed St Clement’s Church, in Leigh-on-Sea and many others.
Our wonderful Churches are part of our rich ecclesiastical heritage as well as serving our local community and our local economy, at a time when building costs and repairs are often substantive. The amount which the Labour Government would lose by removing the cap and returning to the previous un-limited scheme is £23 million. This is a drop in the ocean compared to the many and varied social and charitable services that our churches add to our communities, which has been estimated at £2.4 billion.
PLEASE help me to send the strongest possible message to Westminster that our churches deserve support by signing the petition below.