The CPS says the largest 50 largest charities declare that they receive a total of £3.1bn of public money, but says a lack of transparency and consistency in reporting the type of public support received means the true figure could be up to £6.5bn.

Its report, Transparency begins at home – Why charities must state who funds them, analyses the accounts of the top 50 UK charities by income. It says of these, 32 indicate in their reports that they receive public money, but do not give a specific overall figure.

In two cases, that of the Trustees of the London Clinic, and the examinations body AQA Education, it claims more than 99% of income might come from public sources, but this is not made clear by their accounts.  Four others (St Andrew’s Healthcare, Wakefield and District Housing, the Anchor Trust and the Royal Mencap Society) are said to have more than 90% of unclear income, while the proportion in a further nine charities is estimated at more than 50%.