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Turcan Connell welcomes new charity legislation

Turcan Connell today welcomed the publication of the amended Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill, which contains important changes to charity law in Scotland.  The Bill, which is at the committee stage of its parliamentary progress, has been amended by the Scottish Government in order to adopt legal changes recommended by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

The main changes will provide powers to OSCR to vary or revoke directions which it has given, to appoint charity trustees, and to consider reorganisation schemes for restricted funds within charities.  The amended Bill will also extend the 'References in Documents' regulations to websites and will permit charities to purchase trustee indemnity insurance for the benefit of their trustees.

Gavin McEwan, Deputy Head of the Charities Legal Team, said that many of these changes will be welcomed by the charity sector in Scotland.  "The ability to apply to OSCR to have restricted funds reorganised will be particularly useful," he added, "as the reorganisation regulations currently only apply to entire charities and not to restricted funds within charities.  It will also be helpful at last to have a clear statement in the legislation that all of the trustees of a charity may benefit from trustee indemnity insurance."

The Bill is expected to be considered by the whole Scottish Parliament later in the spring and may receive Royal Assent by summer 2010, at which point the Bill becomes an Act of the Scottish Parliament.
 

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