To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer

(1) how many charities have made successful gift aid declarations in three out of the previous seven tax years; and how many charities have made successful gift aid declarations in two out of the previous four tax years;

(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of the Small Charitable Donations Act 2012 on the ability of small charities to claim gift aid.

The Small Charitable Donations Act 2012 introduced the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS), which enables charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs to claim Gift Aid-style payments on small cash donations. The GASDS was introduced at the beginning of this tax year for donations received from 6 April 2013 onwards, so it is too early to assess its impact. The Government committed to reviewing the GASDS after three years of the scheme becoming operational.

From December 2013 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will be publishing national statistics on the amounts paid out under the GASDS.

HMRC publishes national statistics on the number of charities that claim Gift Aid each year here:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/charity/table10-4.pdf