Performance Indicators March 2010

OSCR's performance indicators for the reporting year 2009-10 are published on a monthly basis.

If you wish to compare the 2009-10 figures with previous years you should be aware of the changes we have made to the performance indicators recorded from April 2009 onwards.  These changes are explained below in the Changes to Performance Indicators section. The 2008-09 OSCR performance statistics can be found here.

 

 

 

Indicator Unit Jan 10 Feb 10 Mar 10 Year to Date 2009-10 Comparison 2008-09 What does this show?
New applications for charitable status Number 69 103 115 1,131                1,118 The number of organisations that have applied for charitable status. This number includes apllications from UK-wide or'cross border' charities.
Applications granted (refused) and new charities entered on the Scottish Charity Register Number 86 (2) 65 (4) 71 (5) 944 (21) 1,008 (N/A) The number of organisations that have been granted charitable status.  The number in brackets states the number of organisations where we refused charitable status.
Average time between receipt of an initial status application and decision Days 117 96 79 97 N/A How long the status application process has taken on average, from start to finish.
Percentage of status applications concluded within 90 days of receipt Percentage 54% 57% 63% 55% N/A The percentage of status applications in which the process from start to finish has taken less than 90 days.

Number of requests for:

(a)  consent to changes

(b)  charity reorganisation schemes

 number

 

(a) 56 

(b)   6

 

(a) 85

(b) 10

 

(a) 112

(b)   12

  

(a) 936

(b) 121

 

(a) N/A

(b) N/A

How many requests we received for:

(a) consent under s.11, s.12 and s.16

(b) approval of charity reorganisation schemes under s.39

Number of:

(a)  consents granted (refused)

(b)  reorganisation schemes approved (refused)

 Number

 

(a) 55 (0)

(b)   5 (0)

 

(a) 53 (0)

(b)   6 (0)

 

(a) 117 (2)

(b)   10 (0)

 

(a) 831 (19)

(b)   86 (1) 

 

(a) N/A 

(b) N/A

How many requests for:

(a) s.11, s.12 and s.16 consents have been granted (refused)

(b) s.39 reorganisation where approval was given (refused)

Percentage of:

(a)  consents; and

(b)  reorganisation 

cases

 

that were decided within statutory deadlines

 Percentage

 

(a) 100%

(b) 100%

 

(a) 100%

(b)  95%

 

(a) 100%

(b)   89 %

 

(a) 97%

(b) 93% 

 

(a) N/A

(b) N/A

(a) Percentage of s.11, s.12 and s.16 consents cases that were decided within the statutory deadline of 28 days (of receipt of a complete application)

(b) Percentage of reorganisation cases in which the statutory deadline to acknowledge receipt within 14 days and issue a final decision within 6 months of advertisement have been met
Percentage of charities failing to provide Annual Returns and Monitoring Returns within 12 months of their accounting year end Percentage

 

14%

 

14%

 

 3%

 

 9%

 

N/A

 This shows the percentage of charities each month that are failing to submit their Annual Report and Accounts.  This is one measure of charities' compliance with their reporting requirements
Annual Returns and Monitoring Returns validated within 2 months of submission Percentage

 

100%

 

100%

 

100%

 

100%

 

100%

 The percentage of annual and monitoring returns validated i.e. Annual Return and accounts check complete. This is a measure of OSCR efficiency

Qualified passes issued to charities

(a)   under 25K income

(b)   over 25K income

 Percentage

 

(a) 39%

(b) 18%

 

(a) 25%

(b) 27%

  

 

(a) 35%

(b) 24%

  

(a) 37%

(b) 20%

 

(a)  N/A

(b)  N/A

 The percentage of charities whose return has been validated but accounts are not fully compliant. For the groups measured here, those with under 25k income completed an Annual Return while those with over 25k income income completed a Supplementary Monitoring Return Form.
Complaints about charities received from external sources Number 8 24 40 310 N/A This includes complaints from the public and referrals from other regulators.
Complaints about charities resolved within 9 months Percentage 84% 92% 67% 89% N/A How quickly OSCR is able to close an inquiry - including making recommendations to be adopted by the charity. Our performance indicator is 75% to be resolved within 9 months.
Review of OSCR's decisions requested Number 0 0 2 6 4 The number of challenges to decisions made by OSCR, indicating disagreement with OSCR's judgements and decisions
Formal complaints about OSCR procedure or service standards. Number 0 1 1 9 9 An indication of dissatisfaction with OSCR's internal processes.
Number of charities removed from the Register Number 72 88 105 952 N/A The number of charities removed from the Scottish Charity Register. This includes voluntary removals and removal due to non compliance.
Number of charities removed from the Register and reporting to OSCR under s.19 Number

231

(118)

204

(93)

192

(81)

192

(81)

 N/A Charities which are removed from the register but have remaining charity assets still have a duty to report to OSCR. The number in brackets refers to the number of Scottish Women's Rural Institutes that were removed in bulk from the Scottish Charity Register that are included in the figure above. This is a running total.
Charities on the Scottish Charity Register Number 23,309 23,290 23,260 23,260 23,234 The size of the charity sector in Scotland.

 

  

Changes to Performance Indicators

From 2009 onwards we have revised our performance indicators.  The significant changes from previous monthly statistics are:

  • Statistics on new applications now include the number of refusals, and also provide a better indicator of customer experience.

  • There is more information on consents and new information on charity reorganisation schemes.

  • Reporting on the lodging of Annual Returns and Monitoring Returns is now 12 months rather than 10 months, as this provides a more accurate figure.  New information includes qualified passes issued i.e. where the AR is acceptable, but accounts are not fully compliant.

  • There is new information on the number of charities removed, including those reporting to OSCR under section 19.  The type of information which would be reported annually would be the value of charitable assets owned by charities removed from the Register.

These statistics reflect activities and outcomes which are appropriate to indicate volumes or trends when reported on a monthly basis.  Trends, outcomes and qualitative assessment which are better reported on an annual basis, which will include these monthly reported statistics, are reported in our Annual Review and Annual Report, and via individual studies.

 

Where N/A is stated this indicates either a new performance indicator where no previous comparator is available; or a change in the way the indicator has been calculated making it no longer accurate to compare with previous figures.