Over half of the public do not want charities and social organisations to take on a bigger role in public service delivery, according to new research from Zurich Municipal and Ipsos MORI.

Ipsos MORI, on behalf of Zurich, quizzed 998 people on their views on the charity sector.

It found that three in five people (59 per cent) believed that charities and social organisations should not take on a bigger role in public service delivery.

It also found that 31 per cent of respondents were concerned that cuts could lead to fewer donations and a similar proportion (33 per cent) felt that maintaining a workable level of donations will be an increasing challenge.

One in five people (19 per cent) people also believe that charities will find it challenging to keep to their purpose in the coming years.