New Philanthropy Capital has called for “more and better philanthropy” after the full Sunday Times Giving List showed that philanthropists gave away on average less than last year.

While the total amount given away by the UK’s 200 biggest donors this year was £2.66bn, up from £2.58bn in 2015, philanthropists needed to give away 2.07 per cent of their residual wealth to appear in the top 50 of the list, and 0.87 to appear in the top 100. NPC says that is lower than the 2.56 per cent and 1.08 per cent respectively required to make the list in 2015.

NPC suggest that this might be because while individual wealth amongst the 200 has gone up, charitable donations have more or less remained constant.

Dan Corry, chief executive of NPC, said: “Our wealthiest philanthropists make a huge contribution to UK society, and they’re giving more this year. But we can also see that the proportion of wealth going to good causes from these top donors has dropped, and that really matters.

“NPC has long argued that we need more but also better philanthropy. We shouldn’t be afraid to ask more of our wealthiest philanthropists. Where people have the cash, and have started to think about giving it away, they should be encouraged to become bigger, smarter donors. Philanthropy is all about what we can achieve through our generosity.”

Lord Sainsbury topped the Giving List for the third straight year, donating £220.5m of his total £550m personal wealth, or around 40 per cent. Sir Elton John was the most generous celebrity on the list, donating £26.8m of his own money last year.

A full copy of the Sunday Times Giving List can be found here.