Public donations to national debt payoff total nearly £900,000

Members of the public have donated almost £900,000 to the government so far this financial year to help pay off the national debt or boost public spending, figures from the Treasury show.

Clearly the 11 contributions, ranging from 78p to £520,000 and totalling £898,539.80, are a drop in the ocean of Britain's £1.2 trillion national debt, which chancellor George Osborne announced last week was set to be £18bn lower than forecast in March. But it is the highest amount since £1.08m was given in 2010.

The figures, supplied under a freedom of information request, showed that most of the money donated since April – more than £897,000 – was in the form of bequests. Gifts and unclassified payments add up to £604.48.

Despite the dire state of the public finances, the Treasury does nothing to advertise the chance to donate, but ministers have occasionally said the option exists.

In April, Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, urged well-off pensioners to forgo their winter fuel allowance. Any such payments are counted separately from the Treasury's figures. The Department for Work and Pensions said that, despite Duncan Smith's high-profile plea, it kept no record of benefits forgone by the public.

This year's figures include £520,000 left by former nurse Joan Edwards to "the government of the day". Edwards' money was originally split between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats for party spending but after an outcry the parties agreed to pay the money to the Treasury.

At the time, David Cameron said the money would be used to pay down the national debt but only the Tories' £420,576 went to that cause. The Lib Dems' £99,423 share was instead used for general spending.

A Lib Dem spokeswoman said Edwards did not specify how the money should be used and that the party decided to put it to general government use.

Jonathan Portes, director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, said: "It makes no difference whether it's used for paying off the debt or for spending because the government spends and borrows all the time.

"This is a fairly minority pursuit and that's not surprising. People have already paid taxes on the money and most people think they can do a better job of allocating it themselves."

A spokeswoman for the Trussell Trust, which sets up and supports Britain's food banks, said Edwards' £520,000, could buy 370,000 meals for people struggling to get by.

The Treasury's figures date back more than 20 years. There is no apparent link between money received and the state of the nation's finances. In 2008-9, when Britain was gripped by recession, there were 13 payments, including a £7,288.79 bequest taking the total to £8,142.66. When the economy was booming in 2005-6, there were 30 contributions adding up to £464,423.07 including three bequests that totalled more than £460,000.

When the Treasury receives a donation it decides whether it is meant for general government spending or specifically for debt repayment. Payments marked for debt reduction are passed to the Debt Management Office which uses the money to buy and cancel government bonds. The Treasury said the money was separate from the Bank of England's £375bn quantitative easing programme of bond purchases.

There are far fewer payments made for government spending. This year the only contribution for the general purposes of government was the Lib Dems' share from Edwards' will. Last year there was one gift of £670.

The biggest contribution on record is a £2m bequest for debt repayment in 2000-01, when the economy was booming.

The Treasury did not provide the names of donors except for one payment of £1,220 in 2009-10 from the Good Gifts Catalogue.

Good Gifts lets people give to worthy causes on behalf of others in lieu of a present. That year, the catalogue gave people the chance to donate £20 to help repay the national debt.

Dame Hilary Blume, who founded Good Gifts, said the option only appeared for one year because there was little enthusiasm for the idea.