Scottish charity law: consultation

Section 10: The reorganisation of charities established under royal charter, warrant or enactment

82. Reorganisation can be a valuable tool for certain charities in Scotland. A reorganisation scheme can enable them to modernise their governance or purposes and to release unused or underused funds for public benefit.

83. If charities want to reorganise they need to apply to OSCR for approval; however it is not clear in the legislation whether it is competent for OSCR to approve reorganisation schemes proposed by certain charities established under a royal charter, warrant, or enactment.

84. While this issue only affects a very small number of cases, there has been substantial expense to the charities involved and consequent use of parliamentary time, putting through private bills that could have been avoided if the legislation was less ambiguous.

85. One option would be to clarify the legislation to make clear whether OSCR can approve a reorganisation scheme for charities that have been established by royal charter, warrant or enactment.

Question 22. Should the legislation be clarified to make clear whether OSCR can approve reorganisation schemes for certain charities that have been established by royal charter, warrant or enactment?

Yes

No

Please explain in the box below why you think yes or no: