Public appointment: Chair reappointed to Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator Board

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Housing Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP today announced the reappointment of Marieke Dwarshuis as a Chair of the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator Board. 

Chair 

Marieke Dwarshuis graduated in Law from Utrecht University in The Netherlands, and her career in Scotland spans nearly 30 years in the public and voluntary sector in a wide range of roles. She was Director of Consumer Focus Scotland, and a member of the senior management team that established the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator. She has held positions in the Scottish Government, where amongst other things she worked on Access to Justice issues, and prior to that was Depute Director at Shelter Scotland. She started her career in Scotland at Citizens Advice Scotland.   

Marieke has extensive experience as a non-executive director in the public sector. She was a board member of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service for more than eight years, chairing its Transformation and Major Projects Committee for six years and overseeing the transformation from eight previous fire services into one. She has been a board member for Food Standards Scotland, The Scottish Legal Aid Board and NHS24, and currently serves on the board of the Scottish Housing Regulator. In a voluntary capacity she has been vice chair of Hillcrest Housing Association, a large social landlord and support services provider in the east of Scotland.  

Marieke brings expertise in corporate governance, regulation, legal services and in the management of organisational change.  

Reappointment 

This reappointment will run from 15 October 2026 until 30 November 2026, to allow for the recruitment of a new Chair 

This reappointment is regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner. 

Remuneration 

This reappointment is part-time and attracts a remuneration of £ 308.64 for a time commitment of 5 days per month. 

Other ministerial appointments 

Marieke Dwarshuis is a Member of the Scottish Housing Regulator Board, for which she receives remuneration of £179.78 per day, for a time commitment of 1 day per week. 

Political activity  

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.  However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.    

Marieke Dwarshuis has had no political activity within the last five years.  

Background 

The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is a Non-Ministerial Office and part of the Scottish Administration following commencement of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005.  

They are the independent regulator and registrar for around 25,000 charities registered in Scotland including community groups, religious charities, schools, universities, grant-giving charities and major care providers. Based in Dundee they have around 40 members of staff. Their work as Regulator ultimately supports public confidence in charities and their work. 

OSCR's general functions are set out in the 2005 Act:  

• to determine whether bodies are charities  

• to keep a public register of charities  

• to encourage, facilitate and monitor compliance by charities with the provisions of this Act  

• to identify and investigate apparent misconduct in the administration of charities and to take remedial or protective action in relation to such misconduct  

•  to give information or advice, or to make proposals, to the Scottish Ministers on matters relating to OSCR's functions