The civil servants involved in this type of thing don't need a grip on reality [at one time I had a lot of contact with them on the subject of display fees].
They have a rule book and they follow it religiously; if they don't, they stand the risk of someone higher up cutting their careers off at the knees if they don't agree with the miscreants 'discretion'.
Besides, saving money is the holy grail of the civil servant with aspirations of a career. That it's for a charity counts for nothing...