Some charities are not consulting their boards before entering into consortia, Charity Commission research will shortly show.

Charity Commission chair Dame Suzi Leather revealed the finding, which comes from soon-to-be-released independent research on charities' experiences in consortia, in a speech at Action Planning's 'Leading your charity through a time of change' conference in Westminster today.

She said that while being involved in a consortium "can be an excellent way to expand your reach, have more impact and enable precious growth", it is "not easy".

She said: "They involve real financial and reputational risks and they're a very complex governance issue.

"It's hard to imagine how trustees can properly fulfil their duties if they're not party to these decisions."