Over 200 organisations still not paid fee - and refuse to do so

Charities who have so far failed to pay the levy imposed by the Fundraising Regulator have been accused of arrogance by its new chair.

Lord Harris of Haringey said some charities had refused to pay the fee, despite the regulator largely being self-governing.

It is claimed that some 246 charities out of 1,883 eligible charities had not paid the levy by the end of last week.

It says several independent schools, universities and arts organisations are among the charities that have not paid.

Speaking to The Times, he said: “There are some charities that feel they are above this process because [they think] of course everyone recognises that they behave impeccably and so why on earth should they be required to do it?

“The rules are there not only to protect the public but also to protect them and their good name. Protecting the good name of the charitable sector as a whole will be an important part of the respect with which they are held.”

The levy goes towards the regulator’s running costs and applies to all charities that spend more than £100,000 a year on fundraising.

Scotland runs its own fundraising regulation, administered by the Independent Fundraising Standards & Adjudication Panel for Scotland with the Fundraising Regulator only legislating in England and Wales.