asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what loss to the revenue there would be if repairs to churches were relieved of value added tax.

I regret that the information is not available from which to make any official estimate, because there is no way of distinguishing the VAT received on the cost of repairs to such buildings from that of other building work. As my hon. Friend may be aware, the Churches Main Committee have quoted a figure of about £5½ million.