The National Church has made £15m available to help churches across the country that are struggling with their rising energy bills. The Diocese of Salisbury will receive £300,000.
David Pain, the Diocesan Secretary, said: “In discussion with the Bishop’s Staff, Bishop Stephen has asked for this money to be made available to those PCCs who are, or who hope to, provide a Warm Space in their community this winter.Our goal is to heat people, not heat empty buildings!”
PCCs will have until 5 pm on Friday 18 November to apply for the grant.
To determine how the diocese will allocate these funds, a set of criteria based on energy bills from last year, as set out in Parish Finance Returns, and the offering to the wider community in providing a warm space this winter, will be used.
Warm Spaces can take many forms. You could continue to heat your building as you normally would, or you could create a new dedicated space elsewhere in your community. Do discuss locally if this is appropriate for you, and whether funding can help.
When you are setting up a new Warm Space for your community, do talk to other organisations that provide services nearby, to ensure efforts aren’t being duplicated.
Applications for this funding can be found here or at the bottom of the page and should be sent by email to parishsupport@salisbury.anglican.org.
Last month, the government announced its intention to provide a new Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which will give churches and other non-domestic customers a discount on wholesale gas and electricity prices.
The scheme will run for an initial six-month period, with a review after the first three months.
This means that from the beginning of October, prices were capped at £211 per MWh for electricity and £75 per MWh for gas. Prices are half of what they were expected to be, but still higher than the prices before April 2022.
To take advantage of this discount, churches do not need to contact their energy suppliers or formally apply to the government scheme, the support will automatically be applied to bills.
Savings will be seen from October bills, which are typically received in November. The scheme will apply to fixed contracts agreed on or after 1 April 2022 as well as variable and flexible tariffs and contracts.
In the meantime, there are some simple steps churches can take to ensure they’re not overpaying on their bills.
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Check that the church is on the right VAT rate. This is 5% for charities and there are no climate change levy payments to be made on energy bills.
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Be mindful of energy usage. Make sure power is not being wasted heating empty rooms or being lost out of open windows.
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Find helpful advice on saving energy in your church in this environment webinar.
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Last of all, contact the Parish Support office for more information or support by email at parishsupport@salisbury.anglican.org.
If you would like to start your own Warm Space, or ask for funding support for an existing one, download your application form for the diocesan funding here.