A third (32%) of respondents to the survey said they were against charities providing more services, another third (30%) said they were in favour of increased third sector delivery with the majority (38%) saying they remained unsure.

But while 46% of the public are happy to support service providing charities, those in receipt of government subsidy could find that their donor income is affected – one in five said they would be less likely to donate, and one in 20 said they simply wouldn’t give, to a charity receiving an income from the government.

The type of work carried out by the charity also made a difference to attitudes about public service delivery. Respondents preferred for national charities to deliver aid overseas (69% agreed), but providing activities for children is still seen as a job for the local authority (59%).

In many cases it was found that the public preferred the service deliverer to be local, whether or not it was a charitable or public sector provider. In providing services for homeless people, for example, local authorities were the first choice and a local charity the second choice.

“British charities are increasingly finding themselves caught between the devil and the deep blue sea,” said nfpSynergy’s driver of ideas Joe Saxton. “On the one hand the public trusts them so much that they are keen for them to play an even bigger role in delivering crucial public services, especially in certain areas of work. Yet, on the other hand, if the government were to fund them in providing such services many of the public say they would be less inclined to donate to the charities themselves.”