Scottish regulator to have more powers under newly approved Charities Bill
Melanie May | 30 June 2023 | News
The Scottish Charity Regulator is to gain new powers after Scottish Parliament voted in favour of the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Bill, this week.
The Bill is expected to receive royal assent later this year and aims to strengthen and update the current law by in three key ways: increasing transparency and accountability in charities; making improvements to OSCR’s powers; and bringing Scottish charity legislation up to date and more consistent with some key aspects of charity regulation elsewhere in the UK.
The current law, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, has remained largely unchanged since it was introduced 18 years ago.
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Most of OSCR’s existing powers will stay the same, as will the ‘charity test’ and the status and duties of charity trustees. The new law intends to enhance these measures and strengthen charity law in Scotland to bring it in line with key aspects of charity regulation elsewhere in the UK.
Changes will include:
- OSCR will be required to publish the names only of trustees on the public Scottish Charity Register, and will also maintain an internal database of trustee contact details.
- OSCR will publish additional information on its website and on the Scottish Charity Register. This will include annual accounts for all charities, which will not be redacted; and a list of trustees whom the courts have removed and barred from acting as trustees in the future.
- It will keep a record of charities who have merged, which it says will assist with the transfer of legacies.
- OSCR’s inquiry powers will be extended to allow it to investigate organisations that are no longer charities, and former charity trustees, and its inquiry process will be streamlined.
- It will also have the power in certain specific circumstances to direct charity trustees to take specific action.
- The range of offences and situations that result in automatic disqualification of charity trustees will be extended to include offences such as being convicted under bribery or proceeds of crime legislation, association with terrorist groups or sexual offences. The criteria for disqualification will be extended to apply to those who are in senior management positions within a charity and OSCR will also be able to appoint interim trustees in specific circumstances.
- If charities fail to submit their accounts and do not engage with communications from OSCR, it will have the power to remove them from the Scottish Charity Register.
- OSCR may refuse charitable status to applicants who have no (or very little) connection to Scotland. Existing charities must maintain a connection to Scotland, and could be removed from the Register if they do not.
The Scottish Parliament’s website has more information about the changes.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.