HUDDERSFIELD MP Barry Sheerman welcomed the launch of a new Home Office grant programme for small and medium sized enterprises.

The Home Office is funding an £8.3m grants programme encouraging small businesses to set up payroll giving schemes for their staff.

The Home Office is offering cash payments of up to £500 to organisations with fewer than 500 employees as a reward for taking part in a new tax-effective donation programme.

Mr Sheerman said: "Donations are vital for charities and community groups in Huddersfield, while also creating tax benefits for the companies themselves.

"I encourage all local businesses to use this incentive to donate generously towards charitable causes and receive full tax relief on those donations.

"This new programme enables employees to channel donations directly from their gross salary to charity, while receiving immediate tax relief against those donations. The Government will also match, pound for pound, the first £10 of each employee's donations for a six-month period."

In order to sign up, all employees need to do is register with a Payroll Giving Agency, who will transmit the donations on their behalf.

The full programme will run until March 2007 and grants will be available for employees that sign up to Payroll Giving between April 2004 and the end of 2006.

For further information call the Payroll Giving Grants Hotline on 0845 602 6786.