We anticipate the scheme to be worth around £13 million for parishes. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced it in the 2011 budget, and there is a Bill currently going through Parliament which will bring the scheme into operation from April 2013.
The new scheme will allow a Gift-Aid style reclaim on small cash donations of £20 or less up to a limit of £5,000 per church without the need for an accompanying Gift Aid Declaration. Full guidance will be made available as soon as HMRC have developed policy and procedures; and the nationally we are in discussions with HMRC to ensure that the scheme is as simple to operate as possible.