Lord Hodgson, who is leading a review of the Charities Act, is seeking views on the charity sector, including whether there are too many charities and whether charities should pay an annual fee to the Charity Commission.

The questions form part of two questionnaires, one for charities and one for the public, hosted on the Cabinet Office website.

Both questionnaires seek views on a range of topics, including whether there are too many charities, if charity trustees should be paid, and whether details of  charities’ fundraising and administration costs should be made public.

Ideas mooted in the survey which circle around the perception that there are too many charities include a fee to register new charities, a ‘sunset clause’ for new charities, incentives to merge, and a periodic review for all registered charities.

The survey also states that “charities receive significant tax concessions (an estimated £2.4bn in 2010/11) as well as other advantages”, and asks whether there should be an annual fee, on a sliding scale, for registered charities to help cover the costs at the Charity Commission.

Lord Hodgson (pictured) said: “I was very pleased to be asked to carry out this review, the terms of which not only require me to look at the operations of the 2006 Charities Act but also to look forward as to how to help the sector in the future.

"I start the review with a blank sheet of paper and am looking to have the widest possible consultation before reaching any conclusions. I plan to cast the net wide including holding a series of regional meetings - it is important that the review should not become too M25-centred."