§ John BarrettTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many and what percentage of staff in his Department contribute to a charity through the Give as You Earn scheme; how much money is donated to charity per month by staff in his Department through the scheme; and what steps he is taking to encourage greater participation in the scheme by staff in his Department. [143897]
§ Mr. LammyCurrently, 534 members of staff in the Department for Constitutional Affairs contribute to charity via the Give as You Earn scheme. This represents a little over 4 per cent. of total staff in the Department. In November 2003 contributions to charity under the scheme totalled £4,839. My Department has had discussions with "The Giving Campaign" to determine what more can be done to encourage contributing to charity through payroll, and as a first step we are planning in co-operation with them to promote the present arrangements in the Department's staff magazine early in the New Year.