§ Mr. LansleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will(a) provide additional funding and (b) amend the procedures under section 3A of the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953, to allow English Heritage to fund the repair and replacement of church bells. [52402]
§ Mr. Banks[holding answer 27 July 1998]: Under the new spending plans announced on 24 July, DCMS's support for the heritage will increase by £10 million over the next three years. It will be for English Heritage to allocate funding between its various grant schemes. There are no plans to amend procedures under section 3A of the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953. Nevertheless, funding is already available for the repair of church bells under the joint English Heritage/Heritage Lottery Fund scheme for churches and other places of worship.