Review of charity regulation
Overview
We have launched this consultation because in the past people told us that they think there should be a review of charity regulation. We want to understand if people still feel that way and if so, what you think should be the purpose and parameters for a review.
In 2019 we ran a consultation about proposals the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) had made on improvements to the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. In response to that consultation some people told us that they wanted a wider review of charity regulation.
This consultation asks 10 short questions about a review. It is split into three sections:
- The need for a review and the purpose of a review
- The parameters for a review - What should it cover and not cover?
- Technical areas for review
You do not need to answer every question, but the more information we have, the better we are able to understand what you feel is needed.
You can hear from the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice about what’s in the consultation and why it is needed in this short video.
Technical areas for review
People have told us that some technical areas of charity regulation would benefit from being changed, raising three specific issues which we have already committed to look at. These are:
-
reorganisations of statutory and Royal charter charities
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incorporation to a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO)
-
a review of audit thresholds.
These are long standing and complex issues for parts of the charity sector. We already have a lot of detail about them and know that they need to be looked at. We plan to do this in a ‘technical workstream’, which can be progressed separately from a review of charity regulation. The consultation asks if there are any other areas you think we should include in this technical strand of work.
More information about these topics can be found in the consultation paper linked to below.
About the Consultation
As you complete your response, each page will provide the option to 'Save and come back later' at the bottom. This means you can save your progress and return to the consultation at any time before it closes. If you don't use this feature and leave the consultation midway through, your response will be lost.
Once you have submitted your response, you can enter your email address to get a pdf copy of your answers sent to you.
On the 'About You' page at the end of this consultation, organisations will have the opportunity to tell us more about their work and/or how their response was informed.
After the consultation has closed there will be a few months delay before any responses are published. This is because we must check that any responses to be published abide by our Terms of Use.
A analysis report will usually be published some months after the consultation has closed. This report will summarise the findings based on all responses submitted. It will be published on the Scottish Government website and you may be notified about it if you choose to share your email address with us. You can also join our consulation mailing list where we regularly list newly published analysis reports (as well as new consultations).
We are running webinars during the consultation period on:
- Wednesday 19 June 11.00 - 12.00
- Wednesday 26 June 15.00 - 16.00
Please email charityreview@gov.scot if you want to sign up to one of the webinars.
Give us your views
Interests
- Communities and Third Sector
- Main hub
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