Just four MPs donate to charity via their payroll even though the mechanism has been touted by government as a good way to boost giving overall.

In response to a Freedom of Information request by civilsociety.co.uk, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) revealed that four un-named members of parliament donate to charity via the Give As You Earn scheme. There are 650 MPs in parliament, which means just 0.6 per cent of MPs give via the scheme.

The IPSA emphasised that this did not account for the entirety of MPs' philanthropy, only what they donated via payroll giving.

The government has repeatedly cited increasing payroll giving as an opportunity to boost giving as a whole. At the Institute of Fundraising’s payroll giving conference in June, held at the Home Office itself, economic secretary to the Treasury Justine Greening reaffirmed the government’s commitment to trying to make payroll giving the norm

“Payroll giving is a huge opportunity that almost needs to be dusted off and looked at again fresh,” she said.

The Cabinet Office expressed particular enthusiasm for payroll giving in the Giving White Paper, in which it also announced plans to launch a national campaign this autumn to promote payroll giving to employers.

This top-line support is yet further cemented by the fact that this year, for the first time, the annual Payroll Giving Awards will be held at Number 11 Downing Street.

In a statement in response to the revelation, the Institute of Fundraising said: “The key thing here is for individuals to keep on giving to charity, irrespective of the channels they choose to make donations.”