Acevo chief executive Sir Stephen Bubb has said the Charity Commission will have to get better at regulating the sector before charities would be prepared to supplement its income with fees.

Sir Stephen was responding to the Commission’s briefing paper to the Treasury, reported on civilsociety.co.uk yesterday, which warned that the regulator may need to charge charities a levy if the Treasury insists on making further cuts to its budget in the next spending review.

Sir Stephen said today: “The Commission is struggling for funds, but so are many charities. Frankly, the Commission’s current performance doesn’t inspire confidence that additional fees would be very well spent.

“I believe charities will want to see a much more responsive and effective Charity Commission if they are going to be convinced of the need to fund it from their own limited resources. The bottom line is that the bulk of the Commission’s funding must always come from central government. “

He said charity leaders are not completely averse to the idea of registration fees – in a recent survey, 48.6 per cent of Acevo’s members said they would support the Charity Commission charging for the registration of new charities – but any additional fees would need to be “proportionate, flexible and affordable” for charities of all sizes and types.

NCVO chief Sir Stuart Etherington also criticised the Commission’s performance in a speech earlier this month, warning that its leadership had lost the sector’s respect over the Cup Trust debacle.

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