WE ENCOURAGE
WE ENFORCE
WE EDUCATE
WE SHARE
We keep charities on the right path.
ScotCharityReg
www.oscr.org.uk
ACIE Scottish Conference, 26 August 2016
David Robb
Chief Executive, Scottish Charity Regulator
www.oscr.org.uk
Outline:
• OSCR role and vision
• 2016 survey results
• Towards targeted regulation
www.oscr.org.uk
The vision
Charities you can trust
and that provide public
benefit
www.oscr.org.uk
Survey headlines
81% of the public* surveyed said trust was very
important or fairly important when determining how
much time, goods or money to donate to charity
• 84% of the public* surveyed said charity regulation was very important or
fairly important
• 93% of charities**surveyed said charitable status is very important or
fairly important
• 85% of charities** surveyed said charitable status had a positive benefit
on their organisation
* General public. Base 1,010 Scottish adults, Feb-Mar
** Base 1,215 Scottish charities Feb-Mar 2016
www.oscr.org.uk
Statutory Functions of the Scottish Charity Regulator
Keep a
public
register of
charities
Determine if
bodies are
charities
Encourage,
facilitate
and monitor
compliance
Identify and
investigate
misconduct
in charities
Give
information
or advice to
Scottish
Ministers
OSCR
Help the
public have
more
confidence
in charities
Help charity
trustees to
understand
and comply
with their
legal duties
Keep
registration &
reporting
straightforward and
proportionate
Strategic Objectives 2014-17
Continually
improve the
way we
operate and
deliver
services
www.oscr.org.uk
10 years of regulation
• Online comprehensive, searchable charity
register – 100K searches every month
• Introduction of Scottish Charitable Incorporated
Organisation in 2011 – now accounts for almost
50% of new applications
• Introduction of Online Services
• Plain English guidance: case studies, checklists
• Over 35 ‘Meet the Regulator’ events around
Scotland
www.oscr.org.uk
The proportionality challenge
£100,000 income
£25,000 income
(7%) income not known (mainly new charities)
24,000 charities on the Scottish Charity Register
www.oscr.org.uk
Changing environment
• Economic downturn, relationships with funders,
reliance on donations, diversification of activities,
press and public scrutiny
• In the eyes of the public, what is a charity?
• What drives public trust & confidence?
The modern charity can be quite different from ‘traditional’
model. This is a challenge for the regulator.
www.oscr.org.uk
Our response – Targeted Regulation
•
•
•
•
•
New Annual Return to reinforce the principles of good
governance
Publication of charity annual reports and accounts
Notifiable Events to alert the Regulator to matters that
may damage public trust and confidence
Targeted Regulation Unit: a risk management approach
to inform and focus our activities in the right areas
Focus on non-submitting charities to ensure donations
are transparently and publicly accounted for
www.oscr.org.uk
Risk Framework
www.oscr.org.uk
Annual Return
• New questions – guidance to help included
online
• The same or fewer questions
• Questions aimed at giving us information on the
risk framework
• Or aimed at encouraging trustees to think about
governance
www.oscr.org.uk
Getting accounts online
Why?
• To promote trust and confidence in the sector
Which charities?
• All SCIOs and charities with an annual income of
£25k or more
• Personal information redacted from the accounts
before publishing on our site
Or, supply us with a link to your accounts
www.oscr.org.uk
Notifiable events
•
•
•
Encouraging preventative action
Supporting good governance
Things to report on:
Fraud and theft
Substantial financial loss
Incident of abuse or
maltreatment of vulnerable
beneficiaries
Not enough charity trustees to
make a legal decision
Charity subject to criminal
investigation by another
regulator or agency
Significant sums of money or
other property donated from
unknown source
Suspicion that charity/charity
assets being used to fund
criminal activity
A charity trustee is acting
while disqualified.
www.oscr.org.uk
What can you do to help
• Keep up to date – Principal Contact, register
info, annual report & accounts
• Tell the public what you do & what difference
you make – go digital!
• Deal appropriately with complaints and queries
from service users or the public/ donors
• Safeguard your charitable assets
Transparency is key to public trust
www.oscr.org.uk
Advertise your charitable status
• Display your charity number – check out our
guidance if you don’t know the requirements
• Provide accounts on your website, and provide
the link for your register entry
• Shop - request one of our window shop stickers
and proudly display your charity number
• Website - use our ‘Registered by OSCR’ logo to
link back to your entry on the Scottish Charity
Register
www.oscr.org.uk
Things to note
From us:
• New guidance – charity test, charity trustees,
campaigning FAQs, social media guidelines,
banking guidelines, good governance page
• Fundraising – new arrangements
• Consultations – reporting responsibilities of IEs
and auditors
www.oscr.org.uk
Thank you
David Robb, Chief Executive
Scottish Charity Regulator
www.oscr.org.uk