§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 19 December 1997,Official Report, column 335 concerning VAT on church and cathedral maintenance, what criteria the Financial Secretary used to arrive at the response given; when the decision was discussed; and who the decision was discussed with. [23203]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe Government believe that using the VAT system to relieve the expenditure of churches is an inefficient way of preserving the heritage. We prefer to target direct support through grants. A relief of the kind envisaged would contravene our agreements with our European partners.