MPs donating to charity through Give As You Earn

Request

Can you please let me know how many MPs have requested that the 2015 increase in their salary be deducted and given away as part of the Give As You Earn Programme? Can you also let me know, in total, how many MPs give away a portion of their salaries through this programme?


Response

If an MP wishes to make a donation to charity out of their salary, then that is a private matter. There are, of course, many different ways of donating to charity, and we would not necessarily know if an MP was making donations to charity once they have received their salary.

IPSA can make arrangements for payroll giving through the Charities Aid Foundation’s Give-As-You-Earn programme. Should an MP be interested, they need to complete the Foundation’s ‘Donor Instruction Form’ form on our website www.parliamentarystandards.org.uk. This needs to be signed then posted or emailed to IPSA’s address. Any donations made under this programme will be taken from an MP’s pay before tax but after National Insurance.

I will take your requests for information in turn.

  • Can you please let me know how many MPs have requested that the 2015 increase in their salary be deducted and given away as part of the Give As You Earn Programme?

In 2015, as part of IPSA’s comprehensive review of MPs’ pay and pensions, MPs’ pay was increased by £6,940 in a one-off adjustment. This was confirmed on 16 July 2015, and was backdated to 8 May 2015.

Some MPs chose to donate this increase to charity, either in part or in full. According to our records, following the announcement on the increase to MPs’ pay in July 2015, 32 MPs chose to donate a part of their salary to charity through the Give-As-You-Earn programme in August 2015. As there are many different ways of donating to charity, this figure does not necessarily reflect the total number of MPs who may have donated the increase to charity.

  • Can you also let me know, in total, how many MPs give away a portion of their salaries through this programme?

As at the point of responding, 25 MPs are currently signed up to donate through the Give-As-You-Earn programme. As noted above, there are many different ways of donating to charity, this figure does not necessarily reflect the total number of MPs who may donate to charity.

Ref:
CAS-58954
Disclosure:
4 October 2016
Categories:
MPs' PAY AND PENSIONS
Exemptions Applied:
None