Charity law consultation responses published

3rd July 2019

Majority of respondents support changes to legislation.

A majority of responses to the Scottish charity law consultation support changes to increase transparency and accountability.

More than 300 individuals, charities and other organisations responded with their views on proposals to improve the availability of information about a charity's activities and operations.

The consultation also gained support for stronger enforcement powers, including the process to automatically disqualify trustees.

The changes are being suggested to improve trust and confidence in the sector and would update current Scottish charity law, which came into force in 2005.

Communities Secretary Aileen Campbell said:

"Charities play a vital role in our society and we need to do all we can to maintain and support public trust and transparency in the third sector.

"We are grateful to everyone who took the time to respond to this consultation. The high level of engagement indicated wide and broad support for change.

"We will fully consider all the points raised, including engaging with those who called for wider changes to the regulations. Collaborative work with the third sector and other key stakeholders will continue as we develop and refine the proposals."

The Scottish Government consultation on changes to charity law ran from 7 January to 1 April 2019.
https://news.gov.scot/news/media-release-consultation-on-charity-law

The consultation responses are available to view.
https://consult.gov.scot/local-government-and-communities/scottish-charity-law/

The full Scottish charity law consultation analysis report is available to view.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/analysis-consultation-scottish-charity-law/