Communities and Culture Committee’s Inquiry into the funding of Voluntary Sector Organisations in Wales.

This letter is the Welsh Religious Buildings Trust’s written evidence, submitted in response to the call for evidence by the Communities and Culture Committee for their inquiry into the funding of voluntary sector organisations in Wales.

The Welsh Religious Buildings Trust aims to secure the conservation, repair and maintenance for future generations of a representative selection of non-Anglican redundant religious buildings in Wales which are of particular historic or architectural significance. These buildings are important parts of our rich and diverse man-made environment and contribute much to Wales’ unique identity. By giving new life and sustainable new uses to a selection of significant but redundant historic buildings, the Trust is helping to contribute to the social and economic regeneration of the communities where it has projects.

The genesis of the Trust dates from May 1993 when the Welsh Affairs Committee of the House of Commons recommended in its report The Preservation of Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments that a Redundant Churches and Chapels Fund be set up in Wales to undertake work similar to that being carried out by the Redundant Churches Fund in England (now the Churches Conservation Trust). The Representative Body of the Church in Wales and Cadw set up a mechanism with the Friends of Friendless Churches to care for redundant Anglican churches in Wales, whilst Cadw invited the Wales Council for Voluntary Action to manage the creation of this Trust for all non-Anglican religious buildings, which was incorporated in November 1999. The Trust is grateful for the continuing support it receives from the Welsh Assembly Government via Cadw. The Trust has been set up, therefore, to undertake an important task as a response to a request from government.

The Trust would like to praise Cadw’s general approach and helpfulness, along with its adoption of a three year core funding period for the Trust. The Trust also greatly appreciates the contribution Cadw makes towards some project overheads. However, core funding that the Trust receives from Cadw has been static in recent years, which amounts in effect to a cut, in real terms, in its annual budget. This means that the Trust is unable to devote all its energies to developing projects, and is finding that it is devoting a disproportionate amount of its time in making applications for additional core funding which to date has largely been from other charitable trusts. Inevitably, as the portfolio of buildings and projects taken on by Trust expands - a key performance indicator - the workload requires additional support to ensure that existing and new projects can be maintained and developed. The Trust’s resources are not increasing in line with this heavier workload and this presents the Trust with a capacity problem. The Trust has found itself in the position that requests for core funding tend to be based on what could be expected from Cadw, and not necessarily on what is required, either in the short or longer term, to ensure the Trust’s longevity and ability to provide for future sustainability. This leaves the Trustees in a vulnerable and difficult 'catch 22’ position, where outputs are expected, but lack of realistic funding or reserves is restricting them.

The Trust receives very modest funds from its Friends support group and from unsolicited public donations from Wales and from further afield. Business sponsorship is often regarded as a panacea for the voluntary sector, but the Trust has so far experienced very little success in this area. The Trust has commissioned a review of its fundraising activities and is developing a new and more comprehensive funding strategy. However, it is clear that the only realistic source for the main, enabling, core funding is Cadw, or possibly another WAG department. This is also the situation with other bodies similar to this Trust that operate in England and Wales and in Scotland.

The Trust’s acquisitions tend to require significant repairs before they can be opened for public access and community use. The major sources of capital funding are limited in number and the Trust is competing with other, similar organisations. A funding package often needs to be constructed, with one source matching another. Grant criteria, timescales and applications forms vary widely, and the application process for even modest sums is generally time consuming and complex. The Committee will appreciate the immense amount of work required to submit funding applications - and that the work entailed is the same regardless of whether the submission is successful or not.

Regarding WAG capital funding, the Trust does have an arrangement with Cadw for funding towards repairs, but not at a sufficient level for what is often necessary. One project example the Trust can give is Bethania Chapel in Maesteg, a redundant, historically and architecturally important grade II* chapel. This is a building which provides an excellent opportunity for a community facility that the Trust cannot take forward as quickly as it would like because of insufficient capacity and resources, both for development of the project and the raising of funds for repairs. Working in collaboration with Bridgend CBC, a submission was made to the WAG Physical Regeneration Fund for major grant aid, assuming modest match-funding from Cadw. This application was approved in principle by the relevant department, but WAG had insufficient funds available and the Trust did not receive a grant. The PRF example also illustrates the difficulty of competing with statutory bodies for funding, who are better resourced to be able to apply for funds as the opportunity arises.

Should the Committee so require, the Trustees would be willing to present their views to the Committee.

Gruff Owen
Trust Manager, on behalf of the Trustees