State funds said to undermine charities

The independence of charities is being undermined by their increasing reliance on government funding, according to a right-wing think-tank.

The Centre for Policy Studies also claimed that public support for charities was “on the wane” because of “corporate self-indulgence”.

In a report last week it found that while donations from the general public grew by 7 per cent from 2000-1 to 2003-4, income from the state rose 38 per cent over the same period.

It blamed public dissatisfaction on “aggressive” fundraising and salaries for senior charity executives topping £83,000.

It also predicted that some charities would have to reduce the money they spent on beneficiaries to refinance their pension schemes.