The Charity Commission is in a precarious financial situation and is “significantly overstretched”, the recently departed chief executive has warned in the national press.

Paula Sussex, who left earlier this month as chief executive of the regulator, wrote in the Financial Times that the Commission had made significant progress in the last three years.

“But these successes must not mask the precariousness of the financial situation the commission finds itself in,” she wrote. “It is significantly overstretched and has been forced to make huge cuts as its budget has fallen by 50 per cent over the past decade. There are no further savings to be made. Any further cuts to the budget would threaten the regulatory model.”

She said that if the Commission faced further cuts it would face “difficult choices” such as cutting back on the register, providing guidance, or carrying out case work.

“The implications of each of those choices are very serious indeed,” she said. “It is for these reasons that I make a plea to government: give the Commission the funding it needs to function in the future or, failing that, grant it permission to seek a small contribution from the organisations it oversees.

“And charities themselves should weigh the pain involved in making a modest contribution towards the costs of an effective commission against the potential price to pay in years ahead if a weakened regulator fails to uphold the public trust on which they depend.”