Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Bill: business and regulatory impact assessment

Purpose and intended effect

BackgroundCharity law in Scotland was last debated when the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005^[1] was established. The charity sector is a vital partner to Government whose value is as essential now to Covid Recovery as it was to supporting our communities through the pandemic. The Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Bill (the Bill) is based on practical proposals put forward by the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) to update the current system of charity regulation by improving transparency and accountability in charities and enhancing OSCR's enforcement powers. The proposals have been consulted on and the vast majority of respondents supported them, including those organisations who also called for wider reforms. Stakeholders are keen to see changes brought forward given it has been 17 years since the 2005 Act was passed.