IS THIS WHAT THEY MEAN BY GIFT AID?

Ayr's Western Meeting Day 2 and Elon Musk on Send

As Blighty’s wrinklies start stocking up on warming pot noodles and hauling out the electrified fleece throws, Circa Starmer is patently struggling to work out how he can afford to buy the half-time pies for everyone in his £8500 per match Arsenal box. Stop fretting, Circa. There’s more than enough to meet the First Lady’s wardrobe needs and your spectacle costs - it’s all free at The Treasury.

Why? Because this year, 18 people have already voluntarily handed over almost £620,000 without the taxman even asking for it, according to figures obtained by the BBC in a freedom of information request.

Over the last twenty years, 153 donations have been made to the Treasury, including 27 people who left money to the chancellor in their wills. Since 2003, the treasury has been up almost £4.8m, which would be enough to meet Circa’s annual expenses bill and Ms Gray’s salary for the next five or six years!

We can transfer by BACS to HM Treasury to support public expenditures, but HMT stresses that “gifts cannot be ring-fenced for a specific purpose or assigned to a specific area of public spending.” Also - just when my mind turned to being able to ask for it back a year later, having had it “laundered” by HMG - you’re not allowed to!

2020 was a very good vintage, £1.2m being gifted. This compares favourably with 2010, when two people made donations and another five left money in their wills, worth a total of £972,621.71. Can you imagine being the nephew of Great Aunt Doris and getting her prized Teapot and a print of The Monarch of The Glen and hearing the solicitor tell that she had given the rest to the Treasury?

By contrast, nothing was given in 2014 or 2015; in 2005, just £5 was donated. In 2013 it emerged that Joan Edwards, a retired midwife from Bristol, had left a £520,000 bequest to "whichever government is in office at the date of my death for the government in their absolute discretion to use as they may think fit". However, her solicitors at the time interpreted this as a political donation and split the money 80:20 between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, who were both in government at the time. There was a backlash after the Electoral Commission published the details, and the Liberal Democrats handed their £100,000 to the Treasury, and the Conservatives soon after did the same with their £420,000.

I fear it won’t be enough to get Mrs Pettigrew’s winter heating allowance back, but I sincerely hope she is not minded to give this increasingly inept rabble any free dosh.

Meanwhile, and with the inevitability of discovering that your mobile doesn’t work properly in Beirut,