Are you ready for the next tranche of forthcoming changes for charities? We previously published a blog on the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 legislation which can be found here which highlighted the various elements which came into force on 1 April 2024. Those changes included:
- OSCRs increased inquiry powers;
- OSCR being able to remove charities that fail to submit accounts and fail to communicate with OSCR; and
- OSCR refusing a charitable application where there is no clear connection to Scotland.
The next tranche of changes is due to take place in Summer 2025 with an exact date anticipated to be announced shortly. The forthcoming changes are:
1. Providing trustee details to OSCR
It will be mandatory for all charities to provide trustee information via OSCR online. In anticipation of this change, all charities should be putting steps in place now to collate the required information including details required for each of the trustees as follows:
- Full name
- Home address
- Email address
- Telephone number
- Date of birth
For those charities who are also companies, this will be similar to much of the information you will have already provided to Companies House. However this new change will provide a clear and transparent view of those individuals who are responsible for the control and management of a charity.
It should be noted however that the majority of the information provided to OSCR will be kept securely and retained by them simply to allow them to regulate charities more effectively and to contact trustees where they need to. The only information that will be made public will the first and last name of each trustee.
2. Publication of all charity accounts
As a charity, you will already be aware of the requirement to submit accounts to OSCR with your annual return each year. The new change will mean that from the end of 2025, the annual returns submitted will appear in your entry in the Charity Register and this information will be visible for 5 years.
The accounts will no longer be redacted prior to publication and charities should take this into consideration before submitting their accounts. Consideration should also be given to whether you wish to add a digital or typed signature, rather than a handwritten signature.
3. Automatic disqualification
In addition to the criteria already contained in the 2005 Act, the criteria for disqualification for charity trustees has been expanded to include convictions for terrorism, money laundering, bribery and perverting the course of justice.
There is also a notable change in that the criteria also now relates to those people undertaking a senior management function for a charity. In addition, it will also include volunteers who undertake a senior management function. This change can be quite significant, and charities should be checking and considering whom this will have an impact on and what this means for the charity going forward.
If you, or anyone in your organisation, requires further advice or assistance in this regard, please contact our team.
