Charities Bill unanimously passed at Holyrood
The bill to update Scottish charities legislation has passed its final stage at Holyrood.
Following its stage 3 consideration, MSPs voted unanimously in favour of the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Bill, which improves the accountability and transparency of charities and increases the powers of the Scottish Charity Regulator OSCR.
Among its provisions the bill:
- updates the criteria for the automatic disqualification of charity trustees and extends them to individuals with specific senior management positions in charities;
- allows removal from the Scottish Charity Register of unresponsive charities that fail to submit statements of account;
- enacts a requirement for all charities in the register to have and retain a connection to Scotland;
- requires OSCR to publish the statements of account for all charities in the register;
- requires OSCR to include charity trustee names in the register, to keep an internal schedule of charity trustees’ details and to create a publicly searchable record of charity trustees removed by the courts.
During the debate the Government resisted a further attempt, supported by all the opposition parties, to exempt churches and other religious bodies from the requirements relating to the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville commented: "This legislation makes practical improvements and updates to existing charity regulation increasing transparency and to help ensure public trust is maintained.
"Scottish charities have a combined income of £14bn each year, so it is crucial that the way they are regulated remains fit for purpose. These reforms will support the effective regulation of charities, helping them to have the best possible environment to thrive."