Contact: Louise Pickford - Ext: 7355; e-mail: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1. As requested by the Executive Member for Policy and Resources last year, this report reviews the position with regard to the provision of grant aid by the County Council to churches.

2. Current County Council Funding

2.1. The following departments of the County Council provide grant aid to churches:

· Environment

· Recreation and Heritage

· Social Services

2.2. In addition, grants have been awarded from the Policy and Resources Grants budget.

2.3. Details of departments' funding programmes, other grant budgets and examples of grants awarded are shown in the attached appendices.

3. Requests received from churches for grant aid from the Policy and Resources Grants Fund

3.1. Since it was agreed to undertake this review, seven grant requests have been received from churches seeking financial assistance for their projects. They are:

· St Margaret's Church in Wellow towards installing a handrail

· Twyford Parochial Church Council towards their organ appeal

· St Lawrence Church in Alton towards upgrading the heating

· St Paul's Church in Winchester towards updating the electrical system and installing new lighting

· Hythe United Reform Church towards building an annexe (already received a grant - see appendix 4)

· St Bartholomew's Church in Winchester towards improved facilities for the disabled

· United Reform Church, Chandlers Ford towards installing a handrail.

4. Future consideration of requests

4.1. While the County Council has hitherto from various sources, made grants and contributions to the repair, restoration and fabric of Churches of all faiths, it is obvious that from within the existing Policy and Resources grants budget that such contributions would have to be at a minimum level. The cost of refurbishment, improvement and fabric repairs at Churches will be significant liabilities costing anything from a few thousand up to several tens if not hundreds of thousands of pounds. The County Council of course, has its own liabilities in relation to the 5,000 buildings which it has, to provide public services to the people of Hampshire.

4.2. In the circumstances, it is suggested that in future the policy of the Policy and Resources grants be such that a grant, within the normal financial limits that already apply, would ordinarily only be given where the works related to works to improve access to facilities whether of a religious or community nature, and where it could be shown that any such grant would be broadly within the terms of the Council's access policy in relation to the Disability and Discrimination Act.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. That in future grants from the Policy and Resources Executive Member budget be restricted to accessibility issues in relation to the Council's policy with regard to the Disability Discrimination Act.

2. That having regard to 1 above, requests from those churches listed in paragraph 3 of the main report which qualify on the accessibility criterion be considered at the next appropriate meeting and the remaining requests be declined.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - Background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excluded:

Published works.

Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

TITLE FILE

Letters from organisations which Chief Executive's Department

Applied for financial assistance

5dR80104

Appendix 1A

FUNDING TO CHURCHES BY ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT

Under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, local authorities are able to offer discretionary grants for the repair of historic buildings.

Hampshire County Council operated such a grant scheme for 30 years until March 2004, originally through the County Planning Department and more recently the Environment Department. In recent years, the grants were targeted towards more important and vulnerable types of historic buildings, including Grade I and II* listed churches and associated features such as lych gates, table tombs, memorials and churchyard boundary walls.

The following table shows grants offered from the Historic Buildings budget for the repair of churches and associated features since 1999.

There is no current budget provision for the grant aid of repairs to historic buildings.

Appendix 1B

The following table shows grants offered from the Regeneration of Older Urban Areas budget in the last five years:

Appendix 2A

Recreation and Heritage Department - Arts Service Project Grants to Church organisations since 2000 (£22,000 in 2004/05)

Hampshire County Council provides a fund to assist Hampshire based groups to organise arts projects. To be eligible for support the project must be based in Hampshire seek no more than 50% of the budget deficit for the project from Hampshire County Council be a "not for profit" activity

It is also preferable that projects should

contain a community focus

contain more than one art-form

be of an innovative or developmental nature

involve Hampshire based professional artists, musicians or performers.

Appendix 2B

Recreation and Heritage Department - Community Buildings Fund (£200,000 in 2004/05)

Recreation & Heritage provides both capital and revenue grants to support community associations and village halls in maintaining their buildings and developing their communities.

Appendix 3

SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT

Social Services does not have a specific budget for grants to churches. However, it has awarded financial assistance to voluntary and community organisations associated with churches. See details below:

Contracts with churches/organisations affiliated to churches

Grants to organisations affiliated to churches

Hampshire Voluntary Care Groups Advisory Service is the umbrella group for care

groups/neighbourhood care groups. It was set up under the authority of a resolution of each of the diocesan Councils for Social Responsibility - Winchester and Portsmouth. Both these Councils for Social Responsibility are charities.

The Winchester Live at Home Scheme is one of around fifty similar schemes that have been set up across Britain. Live at Home Schemes are part of a national initiative of Methodist Homes, which is part of Methodist Homes for the Aged, a charity.

Appendix 4

GRANTS AWARDED FROM THE POLICY AND RESOURCES BUDGET SINCE 2000