While management in the charity sector has changed significantly in the past few decades, a reluctance to invest in governance has led to a stagnation of board structure and a lack of diversity, according to Dame Mary Marsh’s review of skills and leadership in the social sector.

An impressive array of sector leaders turned out in all their finery on Saturday to attend the wedding of Sir Stuart Etherington and Rosamund McCarthy.

The prospect of a single charity registration process for both HMRC and the Charity Commission is not far off, Charities Act reviewer Lord Hodgson hinted to a conference audience yesterday.

Individual giving to charities increased by £945m in 2010/11, but the voluntary sector on the whole barely managed to grow in real terms as inflation ate away at minor improvements.