Public Interest Journalism Working Group recommendations: Scottish Government response

Recommendation 2 – Charitable status

The Working Group recommends that Scottish Government and OSCR, the Scottish charity regulator, should take steps to enable non-profit public interest news providers to register as charities; and the Scottish Government should also create an alternative legal status, with similar tax benefits to charitable status, for other non-profit public interest news providers.

The Working Group also states that it hopes that its proposed Scottish Public Interest Journalism Institute will be granted charitable status.

In regard to the Working Group's recommendation to take steps to enable non-profit public interest news providers to register as charities, decisions on charitable status are a matter for OSCR as the independent Scottish Charity Regulator.

The Scottish Government is aware that some public interest news publishers may be able to gain charitable status as the law stands, but that this decision would lie with OSCR. The Scottish Government acknowledges that the proposed Scottish Public Interest Journalism Institute could apply for charitable status if established, however the Scottish Government must not seek to influence this decision.

In regard to the Working Group's recommendation for the Scottish Government to 'create a new legal status for public interest news providers that operate on a non-profit basis and have demonstrably high standards of journalism, but do not wish to register as charities' – this is outside of the Scottish Parliament's legislative competence as tax reliefs are a reserved issue. Therefore, the Scottish Government is unable to progress this recommendation.