The government is facing calls to set up a stronger independent body to determine which organisations should be granted charity status.

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations is also calling for the introduction of a universal public benefit test for all charities in England.

Forum Response: Charity Commission

A spokesman for the Charity Commission told ePolitix.com: "Of course there's a universal test of a charity's public benefit, and it's applied to each and every charity which submits an application for registration. No charity can be registered with the Commission if it can't demonstrate this.

"As stated in our publications, an organisation is not charitable just because one of its purposes is charitable. The organisation must be set up solely for charitable purposes for the benefit of the community or a sufficient section of the community.

"A charity must have the potential to sustain or enhance the lives of people in the community - not only local community but also community in its broadest worldwide sense."