§ 7. John Barrett (Edinburgh, West) (LD)What assessment he has made of the impact of the proposed changes to gift aid on conservation and heritage charities. [158473]
§ The Chief Secretary to the Treasury (Mr. Paul Boateng)No definitive assessment of the impact of the proposal to remove day admissions from the gift aid scheme exists. The Inland Revenue is discussing the implementation of the proposal with the sector.
§ John BarrettThe Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is just one of the many charities affected by the proposals. It is acting on the advice of the Minister's Department rather than exploiting a loophole. Will the Chief Secretary urge the Chancellor to postpone any changes to gift aid regulations until after meaningful consultation with the affected charities has taken place?
§ Mr. BoatengThe Inland Revenue is having continuing discussions with the sector on implementation. The need to ensure that gift aid is properly focused is something that the hon. Gentleman will well understand. He will also understand that under this Government, especially in relation to the heritage and conservation charities, we have seen a 20 per cent. increase in real terms as far as museums and galleries are concerned. Support for regional museums has gone up from zero to £30 million per annum. We look forward to the announcements that will come from the shadow Chancellor who speaks for the Liberal Democrats in due course, but I wonder whether his promises will be able to match our record of actual delivery to the sector.
§ Mrs. Ann Cryer (Keighley) (Lab)May I refer my right hon. Friend to a letter that I forwarded to the Treasury from the Brontë Society, of which I am a member? It is the trust that cares for the Brontë Parsonage museum in Haworth in my constituency, and it is concerned about the future of gift aid. The letter I forwarded reads:
Price increases are likely to have the effect of reducing visitor numbers—quite contrary to the government's declared policy and in contrast to the funding of free entry to National Museums.
§ Mr. BoatengAs I said to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West (John Barrett), and I have to repeat to 1041 my hon. Friend, I cannot comment on the tax affairs of specific organisations. I can say that there is no question of any organisation being obliged to increase its admission prices. That is not what is proposed. The proposal is to ensure that we maintain a proper focus on an ongoing relationship with the charity concerned.
My hon. Friend will agree with me—I have had the pleasure of visiting the museum to which she referred—that what will best serve the museum and conservation sectors are measures to improve and increase the number of donors who have an ongoing relationship with a particular charity. That is what the Government have done, to the tune of about £2.3 billion each year, of which £506 million is associated specifically with gift aid.
No one has done more for the sector than my right hon. Friend the Chancellor. It continues to be a sector with which we have very good relations. The Inland Revenue has been engaged for many years with the sector in the campaign to promote giving. We shall continue to seek to promote giving, and the measure does nothing to detract from that achievement.
§ Mr. Henry Bellingham (North-West Norfolk) (Con)I do not know how much time the Minister has on his hands, but perhaps he will be less busy after the Budget. Will he come to Norfolk to see some small independent charities—for example, the Cockley Cley Iceni museum or the Muckleborough tank collection, where you can drive a 1944 Sherman tank—and hear from the independent sector how strongly it feels about the policy on admission charges?
§ Mr. BoatengI do not think that I should be let loose in any tank, let alone a 1944 Sherman tank. I shall endeavour, next time I am in Norfolk, to visit at least one of the museums that the hon. Gentleman has mentioned.
§ Judy Mallaber (Amber Valley) (Lab)May I, too, press my right hon. Friend to use the welcome deferral of the changes to the gift aid concession to reconsider the proposal? The National Tramway museum in my constituency is a wonderful and unique museum, and one of only seven designated museums with no assured funding. The original and helpful advice of the Inland Revenue, in allowing the concession, was welcome. Will my right hon. Friend please look at this matter again to ascertain whether it is possible to continue the concession on entry fees?
§ Mr. BoatengI am grateful to my hon. Friend. I know that she has written to my hon. Friend the Economic Secretary, and she will receive a reply very shortly.
§ Mr. Robert Key (Salisbury) (Con)May I appeal to the Chief Secretary's better nature? I happen to agree with him that, on the face of it, admission charges are not an obvious candidate for gift aid. However, it was on the advice of the Inland Revenue that so many of the independent and other charities and museums decided to go into the scheme. Will the right hon. Gentleman assure us that any scheme that he comes up with after consultation with the charities concerned will at least be phased in and that no sudden change will be made? If 1042 that were to happen, it would lead to job losses and to a substantial loss of revenue, which would amount to several thousand pounds for a small museum.
§ Mr. BoatengI hear what the hon. Gentleman says. I know how much he supports the sector, not only the institution in his constituency. My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary is considering the issue of timing. I refer the hon. Gentleman and other hon. Members who have raised the issue to something that was said by Kate Biggs, director of the Dean Heritage museum in the Forest of Dean, in a letter that she wrote to a national newspaper on 9 February:
I chose to wait and see how many other museums took up this scam—that's what I thought it was … This was always a loophole, and it was inevitable that it would be closed at some point.It is important to recognise that some in the sector always took a different view of the provision. I urge all hon. Members, whose concerns I well understand, to reflect on what gift aid is about—keeping the focus on ongoing connection and giving, which are in the sector's best interests.