The Church of England has welcomed today’s agreement with the Government over the future funding of alterations and repairs to its 12,500 listed buildings, which will provide £30 million a year extra money. This is on top of the £12 million already in the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme (LPWGS).

Tony Baldry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the number of taxpayers whose liability to pay income tax has been eliminated as a consequence of their making tax deductible charitable donations. [102500]

Tony Baldry: The Church of England has calculated the potential and additional VAT burden on the Church as a result of charging standard rate VAT on alterations to listed buildings is up to £20 million a year. We estimate that £100 million was spent on alterations to listed churches and cathedral buildings in 2011.

Tony Baldry: The Church of England has calculated that the ending of the VAT exemption for listed building alterations is likely to cost it £20 million per year nationally. The Church of England has responsibility for the care and upkeep of 12,500 listed churches and cathedrals across England, which is largely met by the voluntary giving and activity of its congregations. The majority of alterations to listed church buildings take place in order to improve access to them and to broaden their use by the wider community.

The Second Church Estates Commissioner (Tony Baldry): The Bishop of London and I met my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on Monday. It was a helpful and constructive meeting. We made it clear why we believed it to be in the best interests of the community to continue to exempt alterations to listed places of worship from VAT. We gave the Chancellor a full written submission, a copy of which I have arranged to be placed in the Library. The Chancellor undertook to consider our submission carefully and made clear the Government’s commitment to ensuring that listed places of worship are not adversely affected by the Budget proposal. I anticipate a further meeting with the Chancellor and the Exchequer Secretary in due course.

The Chancellor has faced a furious reaction from bishops and church groups after announcing a 20 per cent tax on alteration work on historic buildings in last month’s Budget.

The Church of England has been urged to establish a new generation of academies after Michael Gove said he wanted to “extend” its role in educating children.

T6. [102846] Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con): Has my right hon. Friend had the opportunity to read the report, chaired by Priscilla Chadwick, on the future of Church of England schools? Does he agree that the recent changes in education introduced by the Government provide opportunities for the continuing involvement of the Church of England in education, particularly in delivering distinctive and inclusive new academies?

The owners of Hartlebury Castle, the Church Commissioners, were shown the potential of the historic property today (Tuesday) by representatives of the Preservation Trust, the Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Rev John Inge and local MP Peter Luff.

The VAT bill for alterations to Church of England buildings is set to rise by up to £20 million per year, unless a campaign to reverse a measure in the Government’s new Budget is successful.