Scottish Charity Regulator Issues Consultation On Existing Charity Law And Regulation

The long awaited consultation on Scottish Charity Law was published on 7 January 2019. This sets out the proposals of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) to improve the regulatory framework for charities in Scotland. The proposals are intended to increase transparency and accountability in order to maintain public trust and confidence in charities and in OSCR. This follows 'the evolving challenges' faced by the charity sector, in which issues such as safeguarding concerns, governance problems and reputational matters have dominated the headlines.

The proposals set out in the consultation

The terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (the '2005 Act') allow OSCR to make proposals to the Scottish Ministers on matters relating to its functions. The consultation document also states that "the Scottish Ministers remain open as to what, if any, changes are required to the statutory framework (e.g. the 2005 Act), and will be guided by the consultation responses". Whether this will provide an opportunity to make other comments on the 2005 Act remains to be seen.

OSCR's proposals as set out in the consultation document are as follows:-

1. That annual accounts and reports for all charities are published in full on the Scottish Charity Register

   OSCR currently publish the annual accounts and reports for all charities with an income over £25,000 and for all Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisations (SCIO's) on the Scottish Charity Register. This is only around half of the charities on the Register. The accounts are also redacted, so all personal information such as names of trustees are removed before they can be published. OSCR want to publish accounts for all charities in full, with only signatures being removed. Our comment

   This has been a controversial proposal. Given that the Charity Commission already do this, and that any interested person can request a copy of the latest accounts from any charity, we support this proposal. It will promote full transparency and allow clear benchmarking between charities.

2. To set up an Internal Charity Trustee Database and an External Trustee Register for use by the general public

   OSCR propose establishing two new registers:

   An internal database of charity trustees which will include full personal details and date of birth. It could also include the details of disqualified trustees or trustees who have been removed following an OSCR inquiry. An external public register would include trustee's names (including disqualified or removed trustees) and a...