The amount of gift aid income reclaimed from HMRC by charities has passed the £1bn mark for the first time, reaching £1.01bn in the 2009-10 financial year.

This was up 6 per cent on the £0.95bn received in 2008-09.

According to provisional figures released by HMRC, the £1.01bn was reclaimed by virtue of £3.57bn worth of individual donations being successfully declared for the relief.

The amount of gift aid received by charities has now risen in each of the past ten years.

The economic secretary to the Treasury Justine Greening said: "It's great news that charities are getting more money than ever from gift aid in spite of the economic downturn.

“I'd like to thank everyone who's used gift aid over the last year to boost the funding for good causes.

“We'll look to build on this success this year and we'll work with the voluntary sector to make the gift aid system easier to use."