CHARITIES Donations stagnant since Lottery

Complaints that the National Lottery has adversely affected the finances of British charities are likely to be revived with the publication of a report showing that the level of public donations has stagnated since its inception.

According to the Barclays/NGO Charity 100 Index of leading charities, total incomes rose by an average of just 0.7 per cent between October 1995 and October 1996. However, between January 1992 and January 1995, charity incomes had rapidly outstripped the Retail Price Index, with an average year-on-year increase of 8.75 per cent.

The index tracks a variety of sources of income, not all of which can be affected by the lottery. Nevertheless, fund-raising managers are likely to be alarmed by the analysis, published in the magazine NGO Finance.