OSCR's proposed publications for 2007-08

Priorities

1. Publications planned for 2007/08 fall into three distinct groups:

Group 1. Publications required either by legislation or by a clear existing commitment from OSCR. This group includes the Annual Report and Accounts that we are required to lay before Parliament, and our commitment to an annual survey of the public and charities to assess OSCR’s impact and performance over the previous year.

Group 2. Publications which are needed to implement the new legislation. In the course of 2007, there will be new Regulations covering areas such as trust re-organisations and fundraising. We will be producing all the documents needed for the new procedures as well as guidance on interpretation.

Group 3. Additional information and guidance based on our experience to date.

2. The proposed publications for 2007/08 reflect:

i. Our experience in 2006/07 from which we have identified areas where charities seem to have the greatest difficulty in complying with the new requirements.

ii. Our experience in 2006/07 demonstrating where there is greatest uncertainty, reflected in enquiries made to OSCR.

ii. Areas we judge will be of increasing importance in the coming months.

Format

3. In choosing the particular format we take into account a number of different factors.

i. The expected shelf life of a document: where the topic covered will only be of interest for a short time, we are more likely to publish only on the website e.g. consultation documents.

ii. The needs of specialist audiences: where topics are highly specialised we are more likely to focus on specific formats such as targeted or individual letters.

iii. Implementing our Equalities Strategy in which we identified that appropriate communication is one of the key elements. This will mean publishing in a variety of different formats.

iv. Efficiency: from OSCR’s perspective, publication on the web is the most efficient use of publication in terms of cost and environmental impact.

4. We have highlighted the importance of working with umbrella bodies, intermediaries and professional advisors and as part of this strategy we wish to ensure that advisors and intermediaries have suitable material. Our proposals include:

i. Different advisors have different client groups and therefore different requirements in terms of published material.

ii. Advisors may not always require written material. Participation in events may be a perfectly efficient means of communication.

iii. It may not be necessary for OSCR to initiate the material. Where resources allow, we are very willing to comment on third party guidance.
iv. We will aim to work with other regulators such as the Charity Commission to develop joint publications and guidance where possible.

Future Planning

5. We welcome comments on the current publication plan. We also welcome suggestions to allow us to plan our 2008/09 programme. Comments should be sent to Mark Simpson, Senior Communications Officer, OSCR, 2nd Floor, Quadrant House, 9 Riverside Drive, Dundee DD1 4NY or by e-mail to mark.simpson@oscr.org.uk