This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Draft Charities Bill and consultation
02/06/2004
A proposed regulatory framework
designed to ensure public confidence in Scottish charities
is set out in a draft Bill that goes before Parliament and
a public consultation paper published today.
The draft Charities and Trustee
Investment (Scotland) Bill updates and strengthens charity
law and sets out a number of new measures that include:
the creation of a new
Scottish definition of charity based on the
principle of public benefit which is compatible
with the definition adopted by the UK
Government
an enhanced range of powers
for the recently established Office of the Scottish
Charity Regulator (OSCR) which will gain
responsibility for granting charitable status and
maintaining a statutory register of all charities
operating in Scotland
provisions that will ensure
better regulation of fundraising activities
Communities Minister Margaret Curran
said:
"Charities provide vital services for
the people of Scotland - many of whom are vulnerable and
socially isolated.
They deliver effective services on the
ground and create jobs, skills, volunteering and learning
opportunities for people of all ages and from all
backgrounds.
"Scots provide enormous support for
charitable activities with around one in five people
volunteering and an estimated £250 million donated to
Scottish charities by the public each year.
The public deserve the right to be sure that
our charities are effective, transparent and trustworthy.
We are delivering that.
"There are more than 25,000 charities
in Scotland and only a very small minority have been
investigated.
The majority of charities do not deserve to
have their reputations tarnished because of the dishonest
activities of a few individuals.
"This draft bill will repeal existing
charity law and create one single, modern framework for
charity regulation in Scotland.
It will modernise the regulation of
fundraising ensuring that public collections are more
effectively monitored and that professional fundraising
companies inform the public about how much of a donation
will go to charity."
Jane Ryder, Chief Executive of OSCR,
said:
"We welcome the publication of the
draft bill and would encourage charities and those with an
interest in the sector to make their voices heard and their
views known.
OSCR has been in operation for six months
now and we are beginning to make an impact using the powers
already available to us.
We have been working with interested
organisations to provide guidance and support to the
voluntary sector and we are soon to pilot a monitoring
programme that will take us towards the full regulatory
process."
The definition of charity in the
consultation sets out 13 charitable purposes.
The prevention or relief of
poverty
The advancement of
education
The advancement of
health
The advancement of
religion
The advancement of civic
responsibility or community development
The advancement of arts,
heritage, culture or science
The advancement of amateur
sport
The advancement of human
rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation
The advancement of
environmental protection or improvement
The provision of
accommodation to those who need it by reason of
age, ill health, disability, financial hardship or
other disadvantage
The provision of care to the
aged, people with a disability, young people or
children
The advancement of animal
welfare
Any other purpose intended
to provide community benefit
In future, any organisation wishing to
qualify for charitable status will have to show first, that
its purposes fall within one or more the categories in the
new list and second, that it will provide public benefit.
It will no longer be the case that some
causes are automatically presumed to be charitable.
Ms Curran launched the consultation at
the
Move On project in Edinburgh to mark
Volunteers Week which runs from June 1.
Move On works with vulnerable young people
aged 14 to 16 who are at risk of homelessness.
Last month, the First Minister
announced details of Project Scotland, a new national
volunteer programme which will allow thousands of young
Scots to get involved in their community.