The total has been growing at roughly GBP100 million a year for the past seven years, the low point of GBP660 million being reached in the economic crash of 2008-09.
Gross donations to charity by individual taxpayers are fairly stable at the moment, being about GBP5.2 billion in each of the last two tax years. But higher rate relief on gift aid donations increased by 12 per cent to GBP470 million in 2014-15, after two years during which they rose hardly at all. Relief on gifts of shares and property was unchanged at about GBP50-60 million annually.
