Organisations which receive most of their money from public funds should not be called charities, Frances Crook, chief executive for the Howard League for Penal Reform, told the Conservative Party Conference this morning.

Crook (pictured), whose charity campaigns for reform of the prison system, called for a “much clearer delineation” between the different types of organisation that operate in the civil society space.

She was speaking at an event at the Conservative fringe on the role of charities and social enterprises, organised by Acevo, the infrastructure body for charity leaders.

She said that being clearer about the different legal structures that exist within the social sector, such as community interest companies, would help raise public awareness.

Being labelled a 'charity' was not “better or worse, just different”, she said.

“If all your funding comes from local or national government you are not a charity – why would you want to be? You don't get the same benefits from tax breaks,” she said.

She said the Howard League has funding from multiple sources meaning it is “beholden to no-one” and that this “patchwork of funding maintains our independence”.

Lord Victor Adebowale, chief executive of Turning Point, which delivers a large number of public services through contracts with local government, argued at the same meeting that an organisation could be a charity if it was funded by public contracts.

“I don't agree with the notion that just because we successfully compete for contracts as opposed to somebody who fundraises that it undermines the independence of Turning Point.”