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The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) said it has made the move in order to encourage compliance with the legislation and to highlight the importance of reporting to the Regulator.

From 29th October, a monthly list will be published on OSCR’s website, detailing those charities that have failed to submit their most recent accounts and an Annual Return form within six months of the stated 10-month deadline. The list can be searched by local authority area, charity name, or charity number.

The first 294 charities published have March, April and May 2006 financial year-ends.

OSCR’s Head of Monitoring and Investigation, Kirsty Gray, said that over 97 per cent of Scotland's 23,500 charities had submitted their details on time but that public confidence required that those failing to do so were highlighted.

Confidence 

"All charities depend upon public confidence and are therefore accountable to the public on how charitable funds are used," she said. "Every charity must supply us with their accounts and an Annual Return or Monitoring Return form within a specified time so that we, as Regulator, can be satisfied that charities are demonstrating public accountability."

Charities entered into the Scottish Charity Register are required to submit an Annual Return and accounts to OSCR. Charities with an annual gross income of £25,000 or above are also required to submit a Supplementary Monitoring Return. These documents must be submitted to OSCR within 10 months of the financial year end for accounting periods that start before 1st April 2006, or 9 months of the financial year end for accounting periods that start on or after 1st April 2006.

Gray said that the list of defaulting charities may also serve to demonstrate the importance of keeping OSCR up to date with contact details. Charities are required to inform OSCR of a principal contact, to whom all documentation, updates and reminders are issued. If the contact has changed and OSCR has not been notified, the charity may not receive OSCR’s communication and reminder letters.

Risk of removal 

"It may be that a number of charities on the list have not kept us up to date with changes to their principal contacts," Kirsty Gray added. "Should any charities find themselves in this position it is vital that they notify us as soon as possible. I would encourage charities to regularly check their entry in the Scottish Charity Register to ensure that OSCR has the correct contact details."

OSCR said that if it has not received an Annual Return and accounts from a charity within 12 months of the deadline date, the charity is at risk of removal from the Scottish Charity Register. OSCR also has powers to appoint an accountant to prepare accounts for a charity. If the Regulator makes use of this power the charity trustees would be personally liable for costs.

Related links

• Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator