The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has announced a series of legislation changes to charity law which will impact all registered charities (including Loaningdale School Company). We wanted to take a moment to outline what these changes are and what you can expect from us as we adhere to the updated legal requirements.

Who has brought in these changes?

Members of Parliament met in February to pass a series of changes into law. These changes were intended to update the old  Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 – and are contained within the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023.

The new measures will be rolled out in three stages. The first stage took place in April, the second in October and the third is scheduled for summer 2025.

What changes have been made?

From summer 2025, the accounts of every charity in Scotland will become publicly available via the Scottish Charity Register. This will be published by the OSCR with the overall aim of increasing transparency. It should make it easier for members of the general public to see how their donations are being used.

The OSCR says the changes will benefit everyone. It explains: “By publishing accounts, charities can demonstrate their financial stewardship, transparency, and effectiveness. Donors, funders, and the wider public will have easy access to financial information, allowing them to make informed decisions about supporting specific charities.”

Now, it’s important to note here that all charities are already required to submit their annual accounts to the OSCR. However, some of the information submitted is currently redacted before the accounts are published publicly. This will no longer be the case, and all information, including personal information, will become publicly available.  

It’s expected that the accounts will remain visible for around five years on the Register.

As ever, it’s the responsibility of the trustees and the charity board to ensure the accuracy of the information provided to the OSCR.

One of the other changes made to the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 was to award increased powers of investigation to OSCR. This means it can direct charities to take certain actions if it feels changes are needed. It can also appoint interim trustees and investigate former trustees, and wound up charities.

Our take on the changes

We’re very much in favour of this move here at Loaningdale. That’s because the more transparent charities can be in showing where funds are used, the more comfortable people will feel about continuing to support the causes that matter most to them.

We look forward to continuing to work closely with the OSCR and welcome any questions you might have about what these changes mean for you.