Britain's historic buildings are at risk unless the Government provides far more support and funding, MPs have warned.

English Heritage, the body responsible for preserving historic buildings and ancient monuments, faces a "serious funding shortfall" according to a House of Commons inquiry.

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee, including Staffordshire MP Paul Farrelly, called on the Government "to take action to ensure that English Heritage can fulfil its functions properly".

Earlier this month, English Heritage launched its Build-ings At Risk Register for 2006, which included more sites from the West Midlands than any other part of the country.

The total number of build-ings at risk in the region is 193, including the British Rail Goods Office in Curzon Street Station, Digbeth, the Red Lion, in Soho Road, central Birmingham, and the stable range at Aston Hall, in Aston.

Mr Farrelly said: "This is not just a report about churches and cathedrals.

"The Government quite rightly places great emphasis on regeneration, and heritage in our cities has a huge role to play in this."

It was important to improve the ability of local councils to deal with conservation, he said.

Committee chairman John Whittingdale said: "If our historic buildings are to survive the test of time, then they will need greater financial and political support than they currently receive."

The committee said the Department of Culture, Media and Sport had allowed funding for English Heritage to decline in real terms, and warned that the financial pressures would increase as National Lottery funds were channelled increasingly to the 2012 London Olympics.

"We are in no doubt that the decline in real terms in grant-in-aid to English Heritage has led to justified fears that English Heritage will in future be unable to carry out its functions to the standard required," the report said.

The committee said that lack of cash had forced English Heritage to scale back the awards it made to preserve historic buildings.

Cathedrals were receiving only "minuscule" grants in relation to their needs, despite their importance.

Culture Minister David Lammy said: "The Government is rightly proud of its support for our heritage.

"The Department of Culture, Media and Sport invests more than £600 million a year to support it in all its forms while the Heritage Lottery Fund has made 12,000 grants totalling over £3 billion."