§ Mr. HeddleTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will indicate the level of public support for the payroll-giving scheme; and how much money has been donated to charities for each year since the introduction of the scheme to the latest available date.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people participated in the payroll giving scheme in each of the past three years;
(2) what total sums of money were distributed to charities through the payroll giving scheme in each of the past three years.
§ Mr. Norman LamontIn 1987–88, the first year of the payroll giving scheme, about 60,000 employees participated and £1 million was donated. These estimates are provisional. Information for 1988–89 is not yet available, but donations and the number of participants in the scheme are expected to be considerably higher than in the first year.
§ Mr. FisherTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he will publish a list of charities who have benefited from the payroll giving scheme;
(2) what arts charities have benefited under the payroll giving scheme in each of the past three years; and to what extent.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe extent to which all charities benefited from the payroll giving scheme in the year 1987–88, the first year of its operation, is estimated to be around £1 million. I am unable to supply details of individual charities which have benefited, because the information supplied to the Inland Revenue on individual charities is confidential.