§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the annual cost of a scheme to promote tax relief for donations of £500 or less to political parties; and if he will place in the Library the results of research which he has undertaken into the cost of such a scheme. [115122]
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienThe cost of a scheme would depend on the number and size of donations (up to a £500 limit) in respect of which qualifying political parties claimed relief. The Government's White Paper on the Funding of Political Parties in the United Kingdom, published in July 1999, estimated the loss of revenue at upwards of £4 million or £5 million a year. This estimate was based on an assumption that the three main parties would claim relief on an average donation of £20 from each of their members.