Clause 72
Charities Bill [Lords]
1:30 pm
Edward Miliband (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Cabinet Office; Doncaster North, Labour)
If I were giving star ratings to the hon. Gentleman’s amendments, amendment No. 72 would be low down the list—indeed, I am not sure that it would receive more than one star. Let me explain why.
The matters set out in paragraphs (a) and (b) of proposed new subsection (Z1) are for the Charity Commission, which will have to provide an annual report to Parliament. Paragraphs (c), (d) and (e) have only tangential relevance to the Bill. However many important claims I would make for the Bill, I would not claim that it will have a huge impact on the operation of gift aid, the total net cost of value added tax or the number and value of central Government contracts, although that is not to say that some of the other things that are being done will not affect them. All Departments produce an annual report, which will certainly cover issues such as those that the hon. Gentleman has raised.