New regulations which will affect all Scottish charity websites have been tabled in the Scottish Parliament and will take effect from 1 May 2012. Gavin McEwan explains.

The Charities References in Documents (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2011 were made on 15th December last year and laid before Parliament just before the Christmas recess. They extend existing regulations which govern how charities must disclose their charitable status in official documents.

At present, the regulations on charities references provide that certain information has to be disclosed in all documents produced by or on behalf of a charity. The information includes the official name of the charity, any other name by which the charity is commonly known, its Scottish charity number and a statement that it is a charity if that is not evident from the charity’s name. The range of documents which the regulations apply to is very wide. As well as business letters and official publications, the regulations also extend to documents which solicit donations, invoices and receipts (but not cheques), charity accounts, contracts and other legal documents. In addition, the regulations apply to all emails sent by or on behalf of a charity.

From 1st May, the regulations will require the same information to be disclosed on the home web page of a website operated by or on behalf of a charity. Many charities already disclose these formal details on their websites, but it is critical that all charities review their websites, emails and other publications to ensure that the regulations are complied with. Charities which are established as limited companies are subject to additional rules to which charitable companies must also adhere.

The regulations do not say where the critical information must be disclosed on printed materials, which gives charities considerable flexibility in how they comply with the rules, but the new provisions in relation to websites insist that the information must appear on the home web page.

Failure to comply with the regulations on charities references is a breach of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and can result in regulatory action against the charity by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

Comparison with England and Wales

In England and Wales, charities with gross income above £10,000 must state that they are a registered charity on a range of official documents.  However, all charities on the Scottish Charity Register must comply with the Scottish references in documents rules, regardless of the level of their income.  Furthermore, they must state not just the fact that they are charities (unless the word ‘charity’ or similar is included in their name) but also the charity’s full name, any name it is known by and its registered number.  So from that point of view, the rules go beyond the English equivalent.

A number of the documents to which the English and Scottish rules apply are the same, but there are also important differences.  The Scottish regulations are far more wide reaching and apply to the following additional documents: accounts; contracts; conveyances relating to interests in land; educational or campaign documentation; and to all business letters, e-mails, adverts, notices or official publications, regardless of whether or not they are soliciting money or property.  By contrast, the only document which is covered by the English and Welsh regulations which is not covered by the equivalent Scottish rules is cheques.

Gavin McEwan is a partner at Turcan Connell