§ Mr. Trewasked the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what estimates he has received from church organisations in the course of his discussions with them of the annual expenditure on the repair and maintenance of churches;
(2) what progress has been made in his discussions with church organisations about grants for the repair and maintenance of historic churches.
§ Mr. ChannonThe results of a preliminary study carried out by the working240W party of the General Synod of the Church of England included estimates of the cost of repairs to seven churches in the diocese of Lincoln; and these helped to determine the terms of reference for the subsequent studies the working party has undertaken on the estimated cost of repairs to most of the historic churches in the dioceses of Lincoln and Norfolk and the resources available locally to meet this expenditure.
The results of these studies are expected shortly. They will be followed by another, though less detailed, study of church repairs and resources in certain urban areas. When these studies are available further discussions will be held in the light of them with the working party, which is in touch with other denominations through the Churches Main Committee.