Paper £5 notes are to be withdrawn from circulation on 5 May 2017. This means that the only £5 note that will be legal tender after this date will be the polymer £5 note featuring Sir Winston Churchill, which was introduced in September 2016.

Paper £5 notes, which features a portrait of Elizabeth Fry, will continue to be able to be spent until 5 May, after which they will have to be exchanged at the Bank of England, in person or by post.

It is also worth reminding members that the new twelve-sided £1 coin came into circulation on 28 March 2017. Old coins will remain legal tender until 15 October 2017, after which time they will no longer be accepted by businesses but can be exchanged at the bank.

Numerous charities are taking advantage of current changes in legal tender to promote fundraising opportunities – a practice which was encouraged by the Minister for charity tax, Jane Ellison, in her keynote speech at CTG’s 2017 Tax Conference last week.