The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) will see a decrease in funding in the coming year, according to its accounts, leaving little money for new projects.
OSCR, which regulates Scotland’s 25,000 charities, is funded by the Scottish government and the level of funding is set out annually.
The regulator’s budget for 2022-23 is confirmed as £3.43m, a reduction from the £3.58m it was allowed to spend in 2021-2022, when its net operating costs were £3.30m.
Staff and spending
Its main operating cost was staffing, and the accounts anticipate that staffing costs will account for just over 70% of its income in the next year.
“Other contracted spending commitments mean that in the coming year we will have very little uncommitted funding available to deliver and develop new projects and functionality,” read the accounts.
It added a provision to its 2021-22 accounts to cover upcoming building dilapidation costs due in 2022-23, when OSCR’s lease on the Quadrant House office ends.
During 2021-22 the regulator experienced higher staff turnover levels than in previous years, at 10%.
The main operating costs were incurred in relation to staff at £2.368m, with other expenditure at £0.922m.
The chief executive was the highest paid director in the financial year 2021-22, with the full time annual salary being in the salary band £80,000 to £85,000.
Increase in the number of registered charities in Scotland
The accounts show there has been a continued increase in the number of registered charities in Scotland this year, with the 2021-22 total sitting at 25,412, compared to 25,230 in 2020-21.
Nonetheless, OSCR received fewer applications for new charities in 2021-22, however more charities were removed.
The regulator says this is probably as a result of the easing of pandemic restrictions allowing more opportunities for charity trustees to meet again and make decisions about the future of their charity.
The percentage of charities late in submitting an annual return and accounts in 2021-22 was 13.5%, 3,431 charities, which is a substantial increase on pre-pandemic levels, around 1,200.
“Some charities which had difficulties in meeting the 2020-21 deadline, also experienced difficulties in 2021-22 and are now required to make good their filing status. In the coming year we plan to resume work on supporting charities to bring their accounts up to date or to wind up the charity if it is no longer operating,” the accounts state.
The number of concerns about charities the regulator received in 2021-22 increased to 563 from 426 in 2020-21.
Related Articles
