Charities and the 1989 Budget (Hansard, 9 May 1989)

§ The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Lord Young of Graffham)
My Lords, the Budget measures are estimated to be worth around £60 million a year to charities. In total, charities receive roughly twice as much in real terms from the Government by way of grants and tax reliefs as they did 10 years ago. Private giving to charities, stimulated by incentives introduced by the Government, has also roughly doubled in real terms over the same period.

Baroness Sharpies
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that excellent reply. Can he say whether payroll giving has been successful and also whether covenanted gifts have also been a great success?

§ Lord Young of Graffham
My Lords, there are now some 3,600 schemes set up by employers, with over 544 100,000 employees participating in payroll giving. The current Finance Bill proposes to double the annual limit on contributions to £480 from the start of the current income tax year; that is, from 6th April of this year. The increase in covenanted giving has come about since the reduction from seven to four years and the introduction of higher rate relief for individuals making charitable covenants.

Lord Bruce of Donington
My Lords, is the noble Lord aware that the tax concessions to which he referred which bring a benefit to the charities concerned are merely a thimble-full of relief in an ocean of despair which his Government have created? Are they not thoroughly ashamed of a position in which the bottom one-eighth of the population now receive far less than they did 10 years ago, as is verified by the Institute of Fiscal Studies in its latest report?

§ Lord Young of Graffham
No, my Lords. The Government are entirely unaware of the points made by the noble Lord and do not agree with them. We have seen charitable giving increasing over the past 10 years. As regards the other figures to which he referred, they are capable of a very different interpretation indeed.

§ Lord Allen of Abbeydale
My Lords, while the VAT concessions on charitable fund-raising events and advertising are to be welcomed, do they not underline the anxieties about the lack of control over fund-raising activities? Can the Secretary of State say whether it is proposed to deal with that issue in the promised White Paper on charities?

§ Lord Young of Graffham
My Lords, I do not think it is for me to anticipate the contents of the White Paper, which should be due in the not too distant future. The Government are aware that certain activities are carried on by charitable organisations which should be looked at closely. No doubt that is a matter which will come again before your Lordships.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, the Minister has said that he is not aware of the points raised by my noble friend Lord Bruce. If he is not aware of them and does not know of their existence, how can he disagree with them?

§ Lord Young of Graffham
My Lords, the Government do not accept the very emotive language used by the noble Lord, Lord Bruce of Donington, with which they entirely disagree.

§ Lord Taylor of Blackburn
My Lords, why is the Minister not aware of the content of the White Paper when he seems to be answering today for the Treasury and yesterday for employment and he is Secretary of State for Trade and Industry? What role does he fulfil, and why can he not answer? He seems to know it all.

§ Lord Young of Graffham
My Lords, I do.

§ Lord Stanley of Alderley
My Lords, while I welcome my noble friend's initial reply, is he aware 545 that the charity with which I am involved receives more and more each year from a very generous public? However, I ask the Government to resist any pressure from the EC to raise additional VAT revenue from the charities.

§ Lord Young of Graffham
My Lords, the Government are aware that private giving in real terms has risen by 75 per cent. over the past 10 years. They are also aware of some tendencies within the Community to wish to charge almost everything to VAT.

Lord Winstanley
My Lords, as the noble Lord knows it all, as has been acknowledged, is he in a position to tell the House how much charities have lost as a result of the levying of the community charge on charitable employees living in residential homes?

§ Lord Young of Graffham
My Lords, I certainly did not say that I knew it all. I said that it was my responsibility to answer for almost all. As regards the other part of the noble Lord's question, my understanding is that the community charge is not payable in England, and I am not responsible for answering questions on Scotland, although if he inquires, I shall find out and write to him.