About the Scottish Charity Register
Requirements under Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act
Section 3 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act requires OSCR to keep a public register of charities, review it from time to time, and keep it up to date. The Act lists information that the Register must contain for each charity. This mandatory information is:
- the name of the charity
- the principal office or the name and address of one of the charity trustees (unless, under subsection (4), OSCR is satisfied it is necessary to protect an individual or the charity's premises)
- the charity's purposes
- certain other information (including whether it is a designated religious charity or national collector).
History of the Register
Prior to the statutory Register published on 1st April 2006, an index of charities was maintained by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). OSCR was established in December 2003 and during the transition period OSCR devoted considerable resources to updating the information held about Scottish charities. A key mechanism for this was the introduction of annual monitoring for Scottish charities which began in May 2005.
Under the terms of the transition arrangements set out in section 99 of the Act, OSCR was required to populate the Register with bodies recognised as charities by the Inland Revenue under section 1(7) of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990. The Register was therefore populated with all ‘live’ charities on the HMRC ‘Index’ at 31st March 2006.
Working towards a definitive Scottish Charity Register
Prior to OSCR taking up powers in April 2006
| Category | As at 1 Sept 2005 | As at 1 March 2006 |
| Charities marked as ceased by HMRC | 5,666 | 5,940 |
| Charities who have completed returns to OSCR | 17,527 | 19,762 |
| New charities since 4 May 2005 | 456 | 760 |
| Charities who have not sent returns to OSCR | 9,233 | 7,148 |
| No contact details provided by HMRC | 4,347 | 3,558 |
Since taking up powers in April 2006
| Category | As at 1st July 2007 |
| Former charities now ceased | 14,834 |
| Active charities | 23,473 |
| New charities | 1,092 |
Keeping an accurate Register
To keep an accurate Scottish Charity Register, OSCR will have to add new charities and remove charities from the register under certain circumstances. Circumstances for removal include:
- Where OSCR receives notification from the charity itself requesting removal from the Register
- Where OSCR, upon completion of inquiries about a charity, is satisfied that the charity no longer meets the charity test.
- Where a charity fails to comply with a direction, following inquiries by OSCR into the charity.
- Where the charity has been granted permission, by OSCR, to wind up or amalgamate and supplies the supporting documentation.
- Where a charity fails to comply with OSCR's monitoring requirements.
