Charities Charging Fees
OSCR has been looking at the issue of charities who charge fees for the provision of its services. OSCR used a computer-based ‘affordability calculator’ (not available outside of OSCR) to help with their enquiries. The resulting report advised that annual fees of £1,500 or less “do not appear to have a significant impact on the ability to pay for the vast majority of Scottish families”. OSCR’s Head of Policy confirmed that charities charging less than £1,500 per year “can expect a slightly lighter touch assessment of their charges”.
In November, OSCR returned to the matter of the four private schools which had previously (and very publicly) failed the public benefit test. The schools had been required to produce plans showing how they would make their services more accessible. OSCR confirmed that their proposals for change were sufficient to meet its requirements and the plans are now to be implemented. It is to be hoped that as the plans are put in place (and OSCR continues to assess the situation) more detail will become available and we will have a better understanding of OSCR’s approach to fee charging.
Changes in Reporting to OSCR
OSCR has also been consulting on its proposals for ‘Integrated Reporting’. The aims of Integrated Reporting are:-
1) streamlined reporting by charities to OSCR (including a much shorter Annual Return form, possibly being reduced to as little as two pages);
2) putting additional information on the Scottish Charity Register (including the ‘financial highlights’, but not the full accounts or the Trustee names, for each charity).
On-line submission of documents to OSCR will also (hopefully) become available (technology permitting!). It is anticipated that the new Reporting Regime will come into effect in April 2011.
OSCR is also proposing changes in its monitoring regime, with a move to a ‘thematic approach’ to monitoring. The proposal is that OSCR will identify a theme to look at, for example charities where a Trustee is remunerated, and will then identify charities which fall within that category. OSCR will then assess a number of those identified charities and produce a report on the particular theme. The original idea behind the Rolling Review was that every one of the 23,000 plus charities on the Scottish Charity Register would be individually reviewed by OSCR and there would be an element of random selection. The thematic approach to monitoring would be a distinct move away from the Rolling Review as originally envisaged.
Lloyds TSB Foundation
In October, Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland suspended the acceptance of new grant applications. Negotiations continued with Lloyds TSB in an effort to secure the future funding of the Foundation. Although its sister organisations in the other parts of the UK have reached agreement with the bank, the Foundation in Scotland has not and no new grants are being awarded. The Foundation has been a major funder in Scotland and, if it is not able to reach agreement with Lloyds TSB, its loss to the sector in Scotland will be keenly felt.
New Legal Structure for Charities?
The Scottish Government is currently undertaking a public consultation regarding the Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO). The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 created a framework for the SCIO but the details have to be completed by further legislation. The SCIO would be a new form of incorporation and would be available only to charities. SCIOs would be registered with and regulated by OSCR. The Government has drafted the consultation with a focus on charities with an annual income of between £25,000 and £1 million as they see this group as being the most likely to benefit from the availability of the SCIO form.
Whether the SCIO will ever come into existence is a cause of some debate. The idea has now been in circulation for over 12 years. OSCR has said that it is ‘ambivalent’ about SCIOs. There are also a number of legal difficulties still to be addressed.
In England and Wales the Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) is being developed. This is at a more advanced stage than the SCIO. Perhaps we should wait and see the final detail and practical results of the English CIO, and learn from the mistakes made with it, before we leap ahead with our own SCIO.
Protection of Vulnerable Groups
The Scottish Government is also currently consulting on the details of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups Scheme (PVG Scheme). The PVG Scheme springs from the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Act 2007. Further legislation is needed (to fill in the details) before the Scheme can be enacted. It is these further details which are the subject of the current consultation. It is anticipated that the Scheme will come into effect later this year. The Government’s aim is for the PVG Scheme to be a membership scheme to replace and improve upon the current disclosure arrangements for people who work with vulnerable groups. The Scheme will be managed by Disclosure Scotland and will apply to regulated work with children and with protected adults. It will bring in a requirement for organisations to report to Disclosure Scotland particular incidents with staff or volunteers. There are also specific requirements (not completely finalised) for the vetting of particular charity Trustees.
Balfour + Manson currently has a working party responding to the Government’s consultation document on the Scheme. A presentation on the PVG Scheme was also given in late 2009 as part of the successful b+m Charities Seminar Series.
Company Law Changes
For those organisations structured as companies, the company law changes which came into effect on 1 October 2009 must be borne in mind when preparing your annual accounts.
Company accounts submitted to Companies House must now be in black ink only (that includes typed and any hand written parts of accounts, and also the signatures). The Company Number must be included in the accounts on the balance sheet, the profit and loss account, the Directors’ Report, the Directors’ Remuneration report or the Audit Report. It is no longer enough to simply have the Company Number on the front cover of the accounts.
If documents (such as accounts) are rejected by Companies House (because they are not in black ink or the Company Number is not in the right place) you run the risk of incurring late filing penalties.
The Gathering 2010
In February, for the first time in its six year history this two-day event (the largest voluntary
sector event in the UK!), takes place in Edinburgh, at the EICC.
We are delighted to be a part of The Gathering 2010 and to be hosting a free 90-minute seminar on Friday 19th February.
The title for our seminar is “Demystifying the Law for Charities and the Voluntary Sector”. It will be a user-friendly guide to topics affecting the not-for-profit sector, including:
- Governance issues
- Trustee duties, including the new Protection of Vulnerable Groups legislation
- Topical employment law issues
- Volunteer or employee?
- Stress at work, including bullying and harassment
- Investment outlook for Charities (we will be joined by the Chief Investment Officer from Rensburg Sheppards)
Each topic will be presented by one of ourexperts and will include a Q&A session.
The seminar takes place from 09:00 to 10:30 on Friday 19th February 2010.
To book a place please contact, Luisa Deas, luisa.deas@balfour-manson.co.uk, 0131 200 1402
Seminar Programme 2010
These free 60-minute events start with registration and breakfast at 8.30am. The presentations begin at 9.00am finishing at 10.00am. All events are held at our Frederick Street offices.
Thursday 11 February: Fundraising
During this seminar we will look at how your Charity can benefit from Gift Aid, including what type of donations qualify for Gift Aid, how to reclaim, and how this can help your cash-flow. We will also consider the extent of Trustees responsibilities to pursue contested legacies and run through the requirements for public collections.
Tuesday 9 March: Licensing for one-off events
This seminar will deal with the impact of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 on Occasional Licences and will include, general points to remember when making an application for an Occasional Licence, practical guidance on completing the forms and on the application procedure.
Tuesday 27 April: Employment Rights
Nearly all workers, regardless of the number of hours they work, have certain legal rights. This seminar will go “back to basics” with a reminder of the statutory rights of workers. Come along to ensure that your organisation is up to speed and complies with the law. Topics will include maternity, sick pay, holiday, pensions, Working Time Directive and the minimum wage.
Thursday 13 May: Data Protection
From April 2010 the Information Commissioner’s Office is expected to be able to issue monetary penalties for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act. This seminar will look at practical steps you should take to ensure that you do not fall foul of the legislation (in the context of recruiting and employing staff.) We will also provide guidance on the procedures which should be followed when a request for information is received.
To book on any of the above please contact luisa.deas@balfour-manson.co.uk 0131 200 1402.
This document is for general guidance and information purposes only and does not purport to give professional advice.
