The Scottish charity regulator is set to gain increased powers this year after politicians voted through proposals set before parliament.
Approved unanimously by the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, the charities bill gives OSCR the power to remove organisations from the Scottish charity register if they fail to submit accounts and are unresponsive to the regulator’s communications.
It will extend OSCR’s power to disqualify charity trustees, and it will be able to disqualify individuals with some senior management positions in charities.
OSCR will be able to investigate organisations which are no longer charities, and former charity trustees.
The bill requires all charities in the Scottish register to have and retain a connection to Scotland.
It will require OSCR to publish all charities’ accounts and all trustees’ names on its register and to create a publicly searchable record of trustees removed by the courts.
‘New law will help to promote greater transparency’
Social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “This legislation makes practical improvements and updates to existing charity regulation increasing transparency and to help ensure public trust is maintained.
“Scottish charities have a combined income of £14bn each year so it is crucial that the way they are regulated remains fit for purpose. These reforms will support the effective regulation of charities, helping them to have the best possible environment to thrive.
“I am delighted that the parliament has unanimously backed this legislation from the start.”
OSCR said in a statement that most of its existing powers would stay the same and that the new rules would “enhance these measures and strengthen charity law in Scotland to bring it in line with key aspects of charity regulation elsewhere in the UK”.
“The current law, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, is 18 years old and has remained largely unchanged since it was introduced,” it said.
“The new legislation aims to bring this up to date to ensure Scottish charity law reflects the needs of Scotland’s charities, at the same time as enabling OSCR to regulate in the most effective way.
“The new law will help to promote greater transparency and accountability of charities and their trustees, making sure the public can have confidence in Scotland’s charity sector.”
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