Key changes introduced by the Act

Over the past two years, OSCR has consulted widely across the charity sector, its professional advisers, the public and Scottish Ministers. The transition to the new regime is based on two years of detailed preparation work in developing modern systems and procedures.

Several aspects of the Act represent significant changes, not least the new legal definition of ‘charity’ in Scotland as ‘a body entered into the Scottish Charity Register’. The Scottish Charity Register now provides a single, definitive point of reference providing details of all registered charities. The availability of the Register reinforces public confidence and allows charities to direct prospective donors to the Register to check that they are bona fide organisations.

OSCR is responsible for administering the modern and progressive charity test set by the Scottish Parliament. The test is in two parts:

• A charity must have one or more of 16 new defined charitable purposes
• It must demonstrate the public benefit that it provides in Scotland or elsewhere

Section 8 of the Act sets out how OSCR must decide whether or not public benefit is provided. OSCR has already published initial guidance for prospective charities on this issue.

Another aspect of the new Act that is of particular interest is the requirement placed on charities based outside Scotland, but with significant operations in Scotland, to register with OSCR.

OSCR has already issued cross-border guidance, available on our web site, www.oscr.org.uk. The Act states that a charity ‘occupying premises’ in Scotland must be registered with OSCR in order to refer to itself as a ‘charity’ or as a ‘charity registered in Scotland’. OSCR has worked closely with the Charity Commission to draft this joint guidance.

As a newly-designated ‘body corporate’ under the Act, OSCR has a board responsible for its performance and strategic policy direction. The board was appointed in March 2006, with members holding a wide range of skills and backgrounds, but all with experience of charities, whether as trustees, employers or advisers.

I am delighted that the board has moved quickly to implement key policy decisions and enable OSCR to maintain momentum and prevent any backlog. We are currently developing an interim Corporate Plan up to March 2007 including establishing a framework for monitoring OSCR’s performance.

OSCR’s priorities as it moves forward
We have already hit the ground running in terms of granting charitable status and have, in May, marked the growth of the Scottish Charity Register to 20,000 charities.

The monitoring programme has been the subject of widespread consultation and two successful pilots in 2004 and 2005. We will now be rolling out a comprehensive monitoring programme across all registered charities, starting in June 2006.

Meanwhile, there are currently around 200 new applications for charitable status being considered by OSCR. Scotland’s first new charities created under the Act were announced within two weeks of commencement, demonstrating the regulator’s ongoing dialogue with HMRC and our commitment to a ‘seamless transition’. OSCR’s board is considering how the Rolling Review of existing charities will be undertaken and a policy announcement will be made shortly.

As regulator, we wish to see the public understanding and valuing charities, as well as charities and the public both understanding and valuing what the regulator does,
and charities feeling that OSCR is not a burden to their activities.

The real test will be whether, in 10 years’ time, OSCR as an organisation will be as welcome as it is now. We exist to ensure that the status of Scottish charity is even more respected and valued in the years ahead.

Jane Ryder is chief executive of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator