Public trust in charities is on the increase – and politicians still inspire the least confidence, according to research released today.

The data compiled by nfpSynergy from nine different surveys between November 2003 and May 2012 found that 64 per cent of people now trust charities ‘quite a lot’ or ‘a great deal’, compared to 59 per cent last year.

Over half of people (52 per cent) said they trusted charities because they ‘know the charity follows high standards in their fundraising’.

But charities are not the most trusted ‘public body’ – the Armed Forces came out on top with 79 per cent, followed by the NHS (70 per cent).

In contrast, political parties received only a 7 per cent trust level, with 53 per cent of people saying they trust them ‘very little’.

‘Still much more that charities can do’

"For charities, trust is their lifeblood,” said Joe Saxton, nfpSynergy’s driver of ideas. “Public trust is a major factor underpinning the donations of time and money by millions of people every year.

"It is good news that trust is on the increase, but there is still much more that charities and the Charity Commission can do to raise trust levels and with it donations."

Saxton also commented on the comments by Charlie Elphicke MP at a recent Public Administration Select Committee meeting where he "suggested charities draw fundraising in and try and win back public confidence and trust".

“Based on our research, for an MP to lecture charities on regaining trust and confidence is definitely a case of the pot calling the fridge black," said Saxton.

Data was used from nfpSyngergy’s ‘Charity Awareness Monitors’ of November 2003, September 2006, July 2007, July 2008, November 2008, July 2009, January 2011, July 2011 and May 2012. A representative sample of 1000 UK 16+ year olds was surveyed each time.