The chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Voluntary Sector prompted a vehement defence of small charities by sector representatives after he expressed concern at the amount of duplication within the sector.

Alun Michael, a Labour and Co-operative Party MP, told the APPG yesterday in the House of Commons that he had reservations about the “enormous amount of duplication within the charity sector”.

He went further to say that “a violent incident in a family frequently results in a trust being set up” and that many of these trusts and charities end up having little impact on their intended cause.

His comments sparked a prompt reply from NCVO’s Karl Wilding, Beth Breeze of the University of Kent and Community Foundation Network chair Matthew Bowcock, all of whom defended the work and number of small charities operating in the UK.

Bowcock said that while he does see a lot of replication in the sector, “actually, you have to let a thousand flowers bloom” and that when charities cease to provide benefit, they should be – and are - rolled up.  He suggested that forcing small charities to merge could dilute the passion which propels those leading the small organisations.

Wilding also piped in with a defence, arguing that “stories of duplication have been slightly overdone”.

Breeze followed, arguing that such sentiments “underestimate the charity sector and that’s not helpful”.

She said that there is already a high level of collaboration, resource-sharing and cooperation among small charities, but that it is not often known or recognised by the public and public figures.