§ Mr. ChannonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about the shortage of forms for gift aid certificates; and if he will ensure that the Inland Revenue provides adequate supplies of the forms.
§ Mr. Norman LamontThe gift aid scheme was introduced by the 1990 Finance Act. There has been a small number of telephone calls but no written representations to the charity division administering the scheme, in relation to the supply of forms. Initial demand for the forms exceeded expectations, but to date over 300,000 forms have been issued. Of these, 4,006 have been returned and processed, with a small number currently awaiting processing.
Requests for these forms are still higher than expected and additional stocks have been ordered. I can confirm that stocks and usage are being closely monitored.