Charities are set to sign a joint statement which aims to restore trust in light of recent sex abuse cases

Aid charities are being warned that they need to take action to restore trust following the recent sex abuse scandal.

International development secretary Penny Mordaunt will meet organisations this week, and tell them that now is a crucial moment to regain public confidence.

Charities will be tasked with defining how they will encourage reporting abuse, tackle those who abuse their power and take allegations more seriously.

Groups who attend the summit in London will be asked to sign a joint statement which will set out a plan to restore trust and set practical actions to help prevent further cases of abuse in the future.

“Now is the time for action,” said Mordaunt. “The aid sector needs to ensure it is meeting its duty of care to the world’s most vulnerable people. It needs to be honest about past mistakes. It must do all it can to win back the trust of the British public.”

New Charity Commission chairwoman Baroness Stowell said: “Not only have some aid workers abused the people they were sent to support, but by not exposing and responding to these serious failings properly at the time, charities have betrayed the public’s trust in what the word charity actually means.”

Last month, Oxfam agreed that it would stop bidding for government funding until it could display to the department for international development that it was meeting the high standards expected from international aid charities.