Charities Bill [HL]

My Lords, my name appears in support of this amendment. Although its substance is only the   single word ““increase””, it is a very important amendment for the charities sector as a whole. I declare an interest as the former chair of the three-year Giving Campaign which had the objective of further developing the culture of giving in the UK and ended last year. That campaign was jointly funded by the Inland Revenue, at the request of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the voluntary sector. The charitable sector relies for its very existence on effective fundraising. It cannot expand, nor will it even be able to maintain, its existing level unless additional funding is found in the years ahead. There is an illusion that the British give generously to charities, which tends to be enhanced by the incredibly generous response to catastrophes such as the tsunami. However, the statistics show that, disappointingly, over the last 10 years or so—during a period when incomes have risen by approximately 25 per cent in real terms and when personal wealth has more that doubled—the level of giving has actually fallen in real terms. That is partly due to the fact that the wealthy, on average, tend to be relatively less generous than poorer members of our society. Against this background, it is not enough for the charity commissioners to promote only the effective use of charitable resources, which are reducing in real terms as a percentage of GDP. It must surely have the   additional objective of promoting an increase in charitable resources, and this is what this amendment, which I support, would achieve. As the noble Baroness, Lady Pitkeathley, mentioned, I am talking to the spirit of the amendment, rather than the actual wording.