The chief executive of the Charity Commission has urged charity trustees to be ready to shut their charity down if they are not furthering their mission.

Speaking at the New Philanthropy Capital Leading Impact Conference yesterday, Paula Sussex called trustees the “legal front door” to charities and said that their role was to guard their organisation’s mission and constantly question whether or not it was making an impact.

“It may be that as trustees you ask, is my charity making a difference?" she said. "If as a charity trustee you feel your mission is done, or you aren't the right people to achieve it, it's okay to call it a day."

Dan Corry, chief executive of NPC, echoed Sussex’s sentiments, saying that charities which don’t make a positive impact are damaging the sector’s reputation in the public eye.

“There are wonderful charities across the country, but there are also others which aren’t achieving what they should," he said.

“If a charity is failing, they must be brave enough to think seriously about quitting–or maybe merging with another one. It helps no one to carry on regardless, sucking up money and time.”

At a separate event to launch the Managing in a New Normal report this morning Caron Bradshaw, chief executive of the Charity Finance Group, also made similar comments.

She said charities should ask whether they were really needed any more, and whether they were making a difference.

"If you're finished, maybe you should merge or quit," she said.