Charities in England and Wales saw their income collectively rise by 8.5% to £90.3bn in 2022, despite a significant drop in government grants, according to new figures.

The Charity Commission reported this week that income from government grants fell from £8.2bn in 2021 to £7bn in 2022 and went to 24% fewer charities (35,474 to 27,001).

But, according to its analysis of charities’ annual return data, charities’ income from government contracts to deliver services increased in 2022.

Almost 6,500 charities received £9.3bn to deliver services via government contracts in 2022, the regulator reported, which has been increasing for four consecutive years.