UK super-rich less charitable than decade ago, says charity chief

A red Ferrari parked on New Bond Street in London. The top 1% are ‘not covering themselves with glory in philanthropic terms’, said Orlando Fraser, head of England’s charity watchdog. Photograph: Alex Segre/Alamy

The head of England’s charity watchdog has berated the super-rich for failing to give enough money to good causes, saying the voluntary sector faces an “existential crisis” amid the social and economic turmoil facing the UK.

The chair of the Charity Commission, Orlando Fraser, said the UK’s top 1% of earners were giving less to charity than they were a decade ago, despite enjoying significant increases in their personal wealth over the same period.