Ministers have set the statutory ceiling for central government support to the Churches Conservation Trust for the next three financial years. The Grants to the Churches Conservation Trust Order 2026 authorises DCMS to pay grants between 1 April 2026 and 31 March 2029 up to a maximum aggregate of £9,531,000, following approval by the House of Commons. (legislation.gov.uk)
The Order comes into force on 1 April 2026, applies in England and Wales, and revokes the preceding 2025 instrument to maintain continuity of authority. This gives a clear legal basis for grant-making into 2028–29. (legislation.gov.uk)
Under section 1 of the Redundant Churches and other Religious Buildings Act 1969, such funding orders must specify both a period and an overall cap. Within that framework, the Secretary of State may, with Treasury approval, determine the timing, amounts and any conditions attached to individual grant payments during the period. (legislation.gov.uk)
For context, the one-year Order covering 2025–26 set a cap of £3,123,614. The new three‑year limit equates to an average of about £3.177 million per year if profiled evenly; the instrument itself does not set an annual profile. (legislation.gov.uk)
The draft Order was laid on 28 January 2026 under the draft affirmative procedure and required a House of Commons resolution before it could be made. The coming‑into‑force date is fixed for 1 April 2026. (statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk)
DCMS’s 2025 explanatory memorandum recorded that government typically provides around 65% of the Trust’s statutory funding, with the Church Commissioners contributing roughly 35%; together, statutory funding represented around 38% of the Trust’s total income at that point. The same document identified 356 historic church buildings in the Trust’s care, illustrating the scale of the estate dependent on reliable grant flows. (legislation.gov.uk)
Governance, financial controls and performance management are set out in the DCMS–CCT framework document for 2025 to 2028, approved by HM Treasury. The framework confirms the Trust’s classification as a central government organisation and sets expectations on business planning, financial reporting and audit. (gov.uk)
The 2026 Order is a narrow enabling measure. It does not alter the Trust’s statutory objects, which are grounded in the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011, and it is not accompanied by an impact assessment because no significant effects on the private, voluntary or public sectors are expected. (gov.uk)
For delivery teams and finance leads, the three‑year window provides a planning horizon for conservation projects that rely on CCT participation. Given the aggregate cap, programme pipelines should assume that releases of grant are subject to ministerial decision and Treasury approval within the period. (legislation.gov.uk)
Key dates are fixed in law: authority runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2029, spanning financial years 2026–27 to 2028–29. Stakeholders should anchor funding assumptions and cashflow timetables to this window. (statutoryinstruments.parliament.uk)