The Charities Bill will not receive royal assent before the election, it has been confirmed today.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “The Government had proposed that the bill be dealt with during Wash Up, however, this was blocked by the opposition on the basis that the bill had received insufficient parliamentary scrutiny.”

The sector has expressed its dismay at the news and is calling on the political parties to commit to introducing a new bill in the first session of the new parliament.

Stuart Etherington, chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), said: “I believe that the failure of the three parties to find the time and the agreement to make this excellent bill a law is enormously frustrating to our sector. We are now seeking cast iron guarantees from all the parties during the General Election campaign to bring back the bill in the next Queen’s Speech.”

Geraldine Peacock, chair of the Charity Commission, also expressed her disappointment and said she hoped the new Government would recognise the strong support that was held for the bill both within the sector and the three political parties: "We're very disappointed that the bill has been lost; this was an opportunity to modernise the legal framework in which both charities and the commission operate.

"The bill's provisions remain essential at a point where the sector is proving its pivotal role as a major contributor to the social economy of Britain. It is important for our voluntary and community sector to be equipped to deliver an invigorated civil society involving all its citizens," she added.