Scottish charities will soon be asked to provide more information to the regulator as the final phase of changes under the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 are due to come into force.
From mid-2025, charities will be required to provide trustees’ details to OSCR and from the end of the year, charity accounts will be made publicly available to strengthen oversight and public perception in the sector.
Trustee details
Scottish charities will need to provide OSCR with personal details of individual trustees from summer 2025. These changes include the submission of a Trustee’s full name, home address, date of birth, telephone number and email address. These details will be securely maintained but will allow OSCR to contact trustees where necessary.
The first and last name of each charity trustee will be published in the publicly available Scottish Charity Register from the end of 2025. There will be safeguards in place to protect trustees, and where safety and security are a concern, trustees will be able to request their name is not published.
It is important that charity trustees are made aware of this change and that it will apply to all the charity’s trustees. This information will be gathered via the OSCR Online access portal; hence all individuals will need to be granted access to their system.
Publication of charity accounts
Currently OSCR publishes accounts on the Scottish Charity Register which fulfil certain criteria based on legal form and income levels. The accounts are also redacted for any personal information of individuals noted within the accounts. Stakeholders have the opportunity to obtain full accounts from charities themselves upon request or via their website.
From the end of 2025 the accounts of charities submitted to OSCR will be publicly available for a period of five years on the Scottish Charity Register. These accounts will be an exact copy of the documents submitted with no redaction made.
This change of position by OSCR brings the availability of the accounts in line with the Charity Commission in England and Wales. It is also looking to bring benefits to the general public and the sector as a whole. Users of the accounts will have easy access to the information, allowing them to make informative decisions regarding future support. Equally, the full disclosure of information provides more financial transparency, effectiveness and understanding of the management and activities of the charity and those who govern them.
What action do charity trustees need to take?
Given the timing of this change, trustees need to carefully consider what information is included within the accounts, opting to change to digital and typed signatures rather than handwritten for the security of signing trustees.
Charities need to determine how their accounts are displayed, i.e. PDF being the preferred option, and to also ensure the timing and accuracy of the information submitted, as this has always been, and will remain to be, one of the key responsibilities of the trustees.
Crucially, it is important that trustees and key charity personnel are aware of the changes ahead, with online systems being updated, trustees need to consider key messages they wish to portray through their Trustees’ Annual Report and accounting disclosures to ensure that stakeholders gain a true sense of the valuable work and support they are providing to their beneficiaries and the general public.
Armstrong Watson will provide more guidance as it becomes available from OSCR in due course.
If you would like any advice and support about changes you might need to make to comply with the incoming regulations, please get in touch. Call 0808 144 5575 or email help@armstrongwatson.co.uk.
