On 8th September 2010 Ian Murray, MP for Edinburgh South, asked the following question in the House of Commons: “Will the Deputy Prime Minister join me in paying tribute to the Rotary Club of Braids in my constituency, which has raised thousands of pounds for Shelter boxes to send to Pakistan and other areas that are devastated by events? Will he give a commitment that his government will consider altering the Gift Aid scheme to ensure that bucket collections can be included, so that the Club’s valuable work can go much further?”
The Deputy Prime Minister replied : “We will, of course, look at anything that will continue to encourage people to be as generous as they have been in responding to this truly horrific catastrophe. (Hansard Column 322 Q11)
Ian then followed this up with a series of letters to the Deputy PM and, as a result of his efforts and work which was undertaken by the Treasury’s Gift Aid Forum which represents Treasury Officials and representatives of the Charity sector, the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) was announced in the 2011 budget.
A bill was introduced in June 2012 and the scheme came into force in April 2013.
At a meeting held today the Rotary Club of Braids presented Ian with a Rotary Certificate in recognition of his contribution to the introduction of a scheme which is of such significance to the entire Charity sector. He is a regular attender at the Club and his help with further major fundraising initiatives such as the Philippines disaster will be recognised in inducting him as an Honorary Member.
The reason why Braids has chosen this moment to honour Ian is that it registered as a Charity on 23rd February 2012 and it will meet the 3 year criterion on 23rd February 2015 after which claims can be made. It should be noted that the Rotary organisation adopts a neutral stance in matters of religion and party politics.
Kenneth Logan, President of Rotary Club of Braids said: “Ian is involved in many local organisations and charities, however his contribution to the introduction of the Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme is the most significant as it involves all charities. Treasury have highlighted that charities will benefit nationally by £100 million during the next financial year. For this reason Rotary Club of Braids is delighted to honour Ian Murray MP.”
Ian Murray, Labour MP for Edinburgh South said: “I’m thrilled to accept an Honorary Membership with the Rotary Club of Braids. The Club does a tremendous amount of charity work every year. One of my proudest achievements in parliament was being successful in persuading the Government to change the Gift Aid rules to help charities like Rotary do more with the donations they work so hard to get.”
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