The UK government will spend £14.5m (US$19m €17m) on the restoration of 39 cathedrals across Britain to help safeguard the nation's religious heritage.

In one of her first acts since becoming culture secretary, Karen Bradley announced the First World War Centenary Cathedral Repairs Fund, which will help secure the future of the cathedrals, including making them weatherproof, safe and readily open to the public.

£40m (US$52.5m, €47.2m) has so far been allocated towards the fund, with the first £20m (US$26.3m, €23.6m) coming in 2014 under the coalition government, with a further £20m added to the budget in March earlier this year under the Conservative government.

A panel made up of English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Church of England and the Catholic Church will make decisions on further allocations, with church architects, architectural historians and grant giving experts also contributing to decisions.

Roof repairs are the most common work necessary, with 11 cathedrals carrying out work ranging from £250,000 (US$328,500, €295,000) in Canterbury to £750,000 (US$985,000, €884,000) in Derby. Three cathedrals – Winchester, Wakefield and Worcester – will use their allocation to restore their stained glass windows and six cathedrals will undergo essential stonework. The largest grant is awarded to Coventry Cathedral, which will be used to fix the exterior slates of the Chapel of Unity, designed by Sir Basil Spence.

“Cathedrals which benefitted from the first phase of this fund have been repaired and refurbished, and staff and volunteers have time and resources to serve their cities and regions with renewed energy,” said Dame Fiona Reynolds, chair of the Cathedrals Fabric Commission for England.

“It is fantastic that more cathedrals are now able to benefit from this scheme. England’s cathedrals are a wonderfully diverse group, encompassing not only vast, world-famous medieval buildings such as Durham, Lincoln and Canterbury, but also smaller churches like Wakefield and Leicester.”