Policy responses and statements

Name of organisation:

OSCR (Office of the Charity Regulator)

Name of policy document:

Establishing an Accurate Register of Charities in Scotland: Consultation on a programme of enquiries for establishing the accuracy of the initial Register

Deadline for response:

27 January 2006

Background: This consultation paper sets out the current position based on details provided by the Inland Revenue, and an analysis of the Annual Return issued by OSCR in April 2005. It consults on what further enquiries OSCR should undertake and on the process for establishing the accuracy of the initial Register

COMMENTS ON
OFFICE OF THE CHARITY REGULATOR - OSCR
ESTABLISHING AN ACCURATE REGISTER OF CHARITIES IN SCOTLAND: CONSULTATION ON A PROGRAMME OF ENQUIRIES FOR ESTABLISHING THE ACCURACY OF THE INITIAL REGISTER

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh is pleased to respond to this consultation and, as a member of the Register, would like to offer congratulations on the progress to date in logging charities registered in Scotland.

Question 1 – Are these the appropriate steps for OSCR to take in order to establish whether a charity is active and establish the necessary details to include in the Register?

Yes. This is a formidable task, but perhaps not all the steps described are required in every case.

Question 2 – Are there any other steps which it would be appropriate to take in order to establish whether a charity is active and establish the necessary details to include in the Register?

It seems likely that some charities may continue to “slip through the net”. Perhaps OSCR can build on the national advertising campaign and promote the accessibility of the Register to encourage public scrutiny of smaller local charities. This need not be punitive initially, but could allow OSCR to identify small charities whose trustees may be less experienced and require support to comply with the legislation. It may be helpful to allow OSCR some discretion to fast track charities seeking re-registration according to their circumstances. Also, charities could become something of “their bother’s keeper” to encourage compliance to support public confidence in the sector.

Question 3 – Should OSCR publish a statement of those charities removed from the Register? If so, how often? Should it include reasons of removal?

OSCR should publish a statement of those charities removed from the Register as soon as is practical following the decision and including reasons why. However, it would seem to be in the public interest to allow access to historical information about charities that may have been deregistered previously. The General Medical Council publishes all decisions about members and offers on its website a historic search facility (for a fee).

Question 4 – Alternatively, should OSCR publish a more formal record of charities removed from the Register and if so what information should this contain?

See response to Question 3 above.

Copies of this response are available from:

Lesley Lockhart,
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh,
9 Queen Street,
Edinburgh,
EH2 1JQ.

Tel: 0131 225 7324    ext 608
Fax: 0131 220 3939

[26 January 2006]