Legacy income grew 1.2 per cent in the year to September 2012, but still falls short of pre-recession levels, according to the latest Legacy Monitor Consortium report.

The total combined legacy income for the 53 charities taking part (which together account for over 50 per cent of the legacy market) was £989m for the same period.

Legacy Foresight carries out the research, and explained in the latest quarterly report that: “This is not a dramatic new trend, but rather a reflection of the low legacy income in the year to September 2011.”

Income from legacies has been broadly flat for the last two years. It peaked in June 2008, when the combined total was more than £1bn, before falling by almost 4.5 per cent by December 2009.

The report predicts that: "Due to the continued fragility of the global economy, we do not expect to see a sustained uplift in consortium legacy income for the next couple of years at least."

Five new members have signed up for the 2013 programme bringing the total number of participants to 58 and meaning that the consortium members will represent 55 per cent of all legacy income. The new members are Beat Blood Cancer, Dogs Trust, Mind, the Musicians Benevolent Fund and the Royal Marsden Hospital.

Earlier this week the Legacy 10 campaign group released a report for the culture secretary, Maria Miller, which argued that legacy fundraising should be made a requirement of registering with the Charity Commission.