To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how much has been paid in (a) tax rebates, including of VAT on repairs and (b) Gift Aid to Church of England bodies including (i) dioceses, (ii) parochial church councils, (iii) cathedrals, (iv) the Church Commissioners and (v) the Churches Conservation Trust in each of the last five years.

Dioceses, parochial church councils and cathedrals:

Government (DCMS) figures for grants equal to the value of VAT for works to listed places of worship over the past five years are below. These are grants to the value of VAT, not rebates. The Church Commissioners do not hold these figures broken down by Church of England diocese, parochial church council or cathedral:

2016 £20,689,034.00

2017 £23,839,469.00

2018 £24,773,038.00

2019 £24,522,362.00

2020 £24,665,225.00

This website, maintained by DCMS, contains details of the Listed Places of Worship Scheme and recent total disbursement: http://www.lpwscheme.org.uk/

Like all bodies that have charitable status, Gift Aid on donations can be claimed by parochial church councils, dioceses and cathedrals. The funding model of the Church of England means that the vast majority of donations from worshippers, visitors and other supporters are made to parochial church councils and to cathedral chapters. The Church Commissioners do not keep a record of Gift Aid receipts by dioceses, but the amount claimed will be modest.

Parochial Church Council Gift Aid receipts for the past five years are:

2016 £91.9m

2017 £94.5m

2018 £94.3m

2019 £96.4m

2020 £91.3m*

*The figure for 2020 is provisional and yet to be fully reviewed.

See also Parish Finance Statistics 2019, page 12: https://www.churchofengland.org/sites/default/files/2021-01/Parish%20Finance%20Statistics%202019.pdf

In 2018, the most recent year for which statistics are readily available, Church of England cathedrals reported in their accounts a total of £1.3m of Gift Aid from donations.

Church Commissioners:

The Church Commissioners have not received any Gift Aid on donations made by individuals.

Churches Conservation Trust:

The Churches Conservation Trust is an independent charity reporting to both Parliament and the General Synod. It receives income from donations from individuals, trusts and foundations, and core funding from Government (DCMS) and the General Synod of the Church of England via the Church Commissioners.

*figure includes grants from the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme

The Annual Report and Accounts of the Trust are laid before Parliament and are available at https://www.visitchurches.org.uk/what-we-do/about-us/annual-report-accounts.html*figure includes grants from the Listed Places of Worship Grants Scheme