Income of registered charities in England and Wales grew by £4.6bn compared to the previous period, according to annual returns filed with the Charity Commission in the year to September 2015.

The total number of staff working in the sector increased by 46,000 to 947,000, but the number of volunteers reported in annual returns fell by over 500,000 to around 3.2 million.

Total income for registered charities rose to £69.5bn.

The figures are calculated from annual returns received by the Commission in the year up until the September 2015 and show on the regulator's website. Those returns mostly cover the periods to December 2014 and March 2015.

Voluntary income is up £1.3bn to £21.2bn, and income from charitable activities is up £2.5bn to £35.6bn.

Total spending by charities was also up by £4.1bn to £66.2bn.

The charity sector had assets worth £192bn, compared to £178bn a year ago.

These statistics comes from information gathered about all the registered charities in England and Wales, based on the financial details provided in their annual returns and are updated quarterly.