Third Sector Funding

Mr. Stewart Jackson (Peterborough) (Con)
7. How much funding her Department has allocated to charities and the voluntary sector from the (a) Capacitybuilders and (b) Communitybuilders fund in the last 12 months.

The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Angela E. Smith)
In the last financial year, Capacitybuilders allocated over £24 million to charities and voluntary sector organisations. Communitybuilders was announced in the Department for Communities and Local Government White Paper “Communities in Control” in July 2008. As planned, the programme will be open for applications this summer, and its national partner will be the Adventure Capital Fund.

Mr. Jackson
Will the Minister say what progress has been made with the reform of gift aid?

Angela E. Smith
The gift aid programme is making good progress, and it gives charities a significant amount of additional money. A recent specific reform is that the profits generated when goods given to charity shops are sold can be donated as gift aid to the organisations involved. There is further work to be done with gift aid, and I understand that the Treasury is looking at it at the moment, in consultation with Ministers.