Earlier this month, I spoke at the second reading of the Small Charitable Donations and Childcare Payments Bill.
This Bill aims to simplify the current Gift Aid Small Donations scheme, to allow smaller and newer charities greater access to Gift Aid claims and to redress the balance for those charities that get lower allowances than others.
I spoke on the importance of making childcare more affordable also, allowing parents who want to work, or to take up more, the opportunity... to do so. Tax-free childcare, alongside the marriage allowance that was introduced in the last Parliament, brings families into the heart of government policy and will help to build a country that works for everyone.
On that basis, I strongly support the Government’s work through this Bill and hope to see it implemented.
That said, I believe there is still more to be done with the marriage allowance. After all, it is not 10% of their lives and responsibilities that married couples share. They share 100% of the work behind caring and providing for their children. They share 100% of their financial responsibilities and those responsibilities can be strained if only one person can work. Tax-free childcare is certainly important, but I will continue to I urge the government to consider extending the marriage allowance in future legislation so that we do not discriminate against those households where only one person is in work.
Please click on the following link to view the Hansard Transcript: https://goo.gl/Ghbspx