Directors' report - statutory and corporate governance information
Charitable and political donations
Charitable donations made by the Group in the year to 31 March 2007 amounted to £429,409. Excluding the Company's matching of Give As You Earn contributions by staff, charitable donations amounted to £322,524. Of this amount approximately 58% were donated to causes which aim to relieve poverty or benefit the community, or both, approximately 12% were donated to charities which advance education, and approximately 9% were donated to medical charities. Further details of charitable donations are set out in the Corporate responsibility report.
In line with Group policy, no donations were made to political parties during the year. Under the Companies Act 1985, as amended, the Company is required to disclose particulars of any donation to any EU political organisation and EU political expenditure incurred during the year. During the period, 3i plc, the main operating company of the Group, made a payment to one organisation, detailed below, which may fall within the definition of donations to EU political organisations. This payment was an annual subscription to the Industry Forum of £3,407.