In response to a series of written questions in the Lords by Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Barker on the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme, Lord Young of Cookham, responded with the following statement on behalf of the Government:

The Government maintains close and constructive links with charity sector representatives and is in regular dialogue with the sector. HM Revenue and Customs has set up an outreach team which is particularly focused on responding to the needs of smaller charities.

This team regularly makes visits to small charities and has provided face-to-face presentations to over 650, raising awareness and helping charities to receive support through the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme, as well as the full range of available tax reliefs to which they are entitled.

Amounts claimed under the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme since 2013 are £6 million in 2013/14, £21 million in 2014/15 and £26 million in 2015/16. Figures for 2016/17 are not currently available.

The costs of administering the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme and instances of malpractice are not available as they are included in the figures for the wider Gift Aid scheme, and cannot be separately extracted.