Strengthening charity law and maintaining public trust
The Scottish Parliament has voted unanimously to pass the Charities (Regulation and Administration) Bill.
The Bill will improve the accountability and transparency of charities and increase the powers of the independent Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The charity sector plays a vital role in society and support for charities is high amongst the public who volunteer and donate to thousands of charities across the country.
This legislation makes practical improvements and updates to existing charity regulation increasing transparency and to help ensure public trust is maintained.
“Scottish charities have a combined income of £14 billion each year so it is crucial that the way they are regulated remains fit for purpose. These reforms will support the effective regulation of charities, helping them to have the best possible environment to thrive.
“I am delighted that the Parliament has unanimously backed this legislation from the start.”
updating the criteria for the automatic disqualification of charity trustees and extending them to individuals with specific senior management positions in charities
removal from the Scottish Charity Register of unresponsive charities that fail to submit statements of account
a requirement for all charities in the Scottish Charity Register to have and retain a connection to Scotland
a requirement on OSCR to publish the statements of account for all charities in the Scottish Charity Register
requirements on OSCR to include charity trustee names in the Scottish Charity Register, to keep an internal schedule of charity trustees’ details and to create a publicly searchable record of charity trustees removed by the courts
Two Edinburgh charities have each won a top award at the Scottish Charity Awards run by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO).
Fresh Start Scotland, a charity working to help end homelessness, and Feniks, which supports the integration and wellbeing of the Central Eastern European community in Edinburgh, won their respective awards at a celebratory awards ceremony hosted by Sally Magnusson at the Sheraton Hotel in Edinburgh on Friday (23 June).
Run annually by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), the Scottish Charity Awards celebrates the best of the voluntary sector and this year’s shortlist included 32 individuals and organisations from charities, social enterprises and voluntary groups across the country.
West Pilton-based Fresh Start Scotland won the Community Action award. Biddy Kelly, managing director, Fresh Start Scotland, said: “We would like to say how delighted we are to win this prestigious award.
“We have only been able to achieve this thanks to the thousands of people who support us, the dedication and hard work of all our staff and volunteers and to positive and supportive partnerships.”
Feniks won the Campaign of the Year award for their campaign ‘Shed your armour, show the scars’. Magda Czarnecka, chief executive, Feniks said: “Winning the Campaign of the Year category is a humbling and exhilarating experience.
“This victory is a testament to the unwavering commitment of our Community Ambassadors, who dedicated their time and skills to address the most stigmatized challenge within the Polish community.
“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our partners, See Me Scotland, who believed in our cause and stood beside us on this inspiring journey. This award strengthens our commitment to continue advocating for change and creating a brighter future for the Polish community in Scotland.”
The winner of each of the nine categories was decided by a judging panel, with the tenth People’s Choice category winner decided by the public with over 14,000 votes cast online.
The winners for the Scottish Charity Awards 2023 are:
Anna Fowlie, chief executive of SCVO, said: Anna Fowlie, chief executive of SCVO, said: “What a fabulous event to celebrate the achievements of organisations and people across the voluntary sector in Scotland.
“Our finalists and winners are all shining examples of the great things happening thanks to the commitment of people working and volunteering in charities, community groups and social enterprises, all championing good causes, providing vital support and making our communities better places to live.
“Every community, and every part of our society, benefits from the work that SCVO is lucky to see on a daily basis. Thank you to everyone who participated in the Scottish Charity Awards this year, including our sponsors, the Sheraton Hotel for hosting us and of course to Sally Magnusson who was lovely as ever.
“Congratulations to all the finalists – I’m already looking forward to what the next year brings!
Improvements and updates to increase transparency and accountability
Legislation to update and strengthen existing charity law has been published. The Charities (Regulation and Administration) Bill aims to increase transparency and accountability and improves the powers of the Office of Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
As part of the proposals OSCR will:
publish annual accounts for every charity
include the names of all charity trustees in the Scottish Charity Register
be able to remove charities that fail to provide accounts and don’t respond to OSCR’s communications
create a publicly searchable record of removed charity trustees
The legislation will also give OSCR new powers to issue positive directions to a charity to take action, such as managing a conflict of interest, where a risk has been identified by the regulator.
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “Charities play a vital role in our society, from supporting individuals and communities, to informing policy at a national level.
“Current charity law is now 17 years old, the charity sector has changed significantly in that time and the legislation needs to be updated to reflect that. Charities have told us that they want these changes to help strengthen existing charity law and update their system of regulation.
“In order to maintain public trust and confidence in this important sector and its regulator in the years ahead, we are taking the required steps to increase transparency and to extend OSCR’s enforcement powers.
“Scotland’s charities raise more than £13 billion of income each year and this Bill will give the public further transparency as to how that money is used.”
Anna Fowlie, Chief Executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), said: “I welcome the introduction of this legislation. Charity regulation is vital to public trust and confidence in the sector, and it needs to be fit for purpose.
“This Bill is an opportunity to modernise regulation and ensure that OSCR has the powers it needs to fulfil its functions as effectively as possible. I also welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to a wider review of charity law in the future.”
updating the criteria for the automatic disqualification of charity trustees and extending it to individuals with specific senior management positions in charities
removal from the Scottish Charity Register of unresponsive charities that fail to submit statements of account
a requirement for all charities in the Scottish Charity Register to have and retain a connection to Scotland
a requirement on OSCR to publish the statements of account for all charities in the Scottish Charity Register
requirements on OSCR to include charity trustee names in the Scottish Charity Register, to keep an internal schedule of charity trustees’ details and to create a publicly searchable record of charity trustees removed by the courts
The Scottish Government consulted on proposals put forward by OSCR in 2019 and consulted again on a number of specific reforms in 2021 and found a majority of support for the changes.
EVOC & EHSCP invite you to a shared learning and networking event focused on building partnerships and networks in Edinburgh’s NW Locality.
Hosted by EVOC and the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership, this is one of four locality-based events focusing on how we can develop relationships and referral networks to improve support for clients – particularly those who might benefit by engaging with local organisations to explore preventative and early intervention ‘Conversation 1’ type activities.
NORTH WEST LOCALITY EVENT OVERVIEW
Dr Linda Irvine-Fitzpatrick, EVOC’s Bridie Ashrowan andthe NW Locality Manager will discuss the interconnections and learning from the Three Conversations Model, The Edinburgh Wellbeing Pact and work within communities.
Here’s some of that wonderful feedback we received last year:
“So much out there – great to come up to date with the resources and look at the potential supports.”
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Aberlour’s Urgent Assistance Fund campaign shone a light on the financial cost of Covid-19 to children and families in Scotland and provided essentials like food, heating, clothing and beds to children who would otherwise have gone without. The campaign launched i…
Alistair is a volunteer within the Bridge Community Project’s Financial Wellbeing Service, where he provides hope to vulnerable members of the West Lothian community who are experiencing financial and personal challenges. His approach focuses on developing positiv…
Andrew’s influence, guidance and support has helped the trust secure an incredible amount of funding in the last 12 months alone. He liaised with key experts in Covid-19, which was instrumental in the charity securing funding for its recently launched research on…
The team has worked tirelessly with the Scottish Government, Parliament and Infection Prevention and Control specialists to improve guidance and enable meaningful contact with care home residents cut off from their loved ones due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Bob joined Cumbernauld Action on Care of the Elderly after becoming a service user, he then registered as a volunteer because he wanted to support others who felt isolated. Bob became a Befriender to someone who was bedridden after suffering a stroke, providing…
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During the toughest of years for so many, Chris focused on ensuring AbilityNet’s older and disabled clients remain – or become part of – the digital world at a time when it’s become more crucial than ever. Thanks to him over 1,000 older and disabled people have no…
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Cumbernauld Resilience was established in March 2020 as a community-based response to the effects of the Covid 19 pandemic. It united people from all over Cumbernauld from a diverse demographic to reach out and help their neighbours. The team has over 120 voluntee…
Douglas is more than a volunteer for Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland (CHSS) – he is a life-changer. He does everything he can to help fellow stroke survivors in their recovery. When the pandemic hit, Douglas was first in line to suggest creative ways for stroke su…
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In response to the pandemic and in partnership with Natwest, last year Cyrenians launched a full-scale food production service; cooking and delivering more than 5,000 freezer-friendly, healthy and delicious ready meals every week to local people who were unable to…
The Fringe is widely recognised as one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture on the planet. It is a worldwide brand that speaks to the values of being open, welcoming, inclusive, pioneering, international, experimental and innovative. Pursuing a vision…
As the manager of Harlawhill Day Centre, Fiona supports the elderly community of Prestonpans every day. When lockdown struck in 2020 she put an immediate outreach plan in place to keep all the centre’s clients socially connected, and tirelessly organised free meal…
Child Sexual Abuse impacts one in six children in Scotland and targeting offenders is one of the most important ways of tackling abuse before it happens. As a result of the ‘Get Help or Get Caught’ campaign over 79,000 people visited the team’s website and 185 peo…
GAU is proudly embedded in the communities it serves and is fully responsive to the needs of those they work with. When lockdown hit the team acted quickly and decisively with a new food delivery service that has helped hundreds of people. They also delivered onli…
In 2020 Glasgow’s Golden Generation was awarded funding to get older adults online. However, most service users had never used technology before so GGG bought tablet computers and developed a bespoke app with videos, Covid updates, puzzles and befriending video ca…
Edinburgh School Uniform Bank is a volunteer-run charity, which is a safety net for struggling families and a vital resource for education and health professionals – and when pandemic restrictions were put in place Julia knew she had to keep the service open. Desp…
Lead’s aim is to provide accessible digital skills and cyber safety training to disabled people, unpaid carers, practitioners and people experiencing barriers to learning. With a small team of five staff, they supported 989 people to improve their digital skills a…
Lilias’ particular focus over the past four years has been to fundamentally change how Cosgrove Care approaches fundraising, and to improve the environments in which people live, and the charity operates within. She has spent many hours researching grants and has…
Linda wants the team she works with to be recognised for the outcomes they accomplished. Valuing the team and working together is essential to achieving the best possible outcomes for the most vulnerable in our communities. Linda believes she has become an effecti…
Long Covid Care Now continues to raise awareness and push for better care – ensuring that people with Long Covid are not the forgotten victims of the pandemic. Thanks to the campaign’s activities public awareness is high, the Scottish Government has committed fund…
Our application aims to highlight the hard work and achievements of our manager, Lorraine Jarvie. Lorraine has brought a wealth of experience and a new level of excellence and professionalism to MOOD ensuring its services are delivered to the highest standards. Lo…
The project helped people cut their energy bills, despite the pandemic, but also secured new heating systems, warmer home payments and even new windows for a number of deaf and blind people who were struggling to heat their homes and pay their bills. On top of thi…
Nicola has achieved a huge amount in the last 12 months. Working with young carers, she set up #Supermarkets4Change, campaigning to raise awareness of unpaid carers with supermarkets to include young carers in the protected hours set aside for vulnerable people to…
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Pam Noble was a trustee of Kyle and Lochalsh Community Trust from 2017 until 2021 and its chair from 2018. The projects developed under Pam’s leadership have established strong foundations for a sustainable future supported by extensive community consultation. The…
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R:evolve Recycle is a unique project managed by LEAP, a charity that works to enhance the lives of older people across Scotland through volunteering, learning, socialising and befriending. R:evolve’s goal is to reduce clothing consumption, cutdown carbon emissions…
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The team delivered critical services to support people and animals during the coronavirus pandemic. They pioneered an emergency foster scheme during lockdown getting over 260 animals into loving homes, launched their first ever online rehoming service to allow peo…
SCRAN coordinated a coalition of charities that produced, packaged and delivered nearly 150,000 meals during the first lockdown, supporting over 1,000 people per week at its height. None of it possible without the 220 local people who gave tens-of-thousands of ho…
Shawn wants to be a role model for both BAME and disadvantaged communities. He has successfully made an impact in communities across Glasgow by delivering Cyber-crime Prevention Awareness Workshops and also creating a space through a community gardening pr…
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With over 70 volunteers, five staff, and a network of 550+ Young Leaders, 2050 Climate Group equips young people with leadership skills to challenge the climate crisis. 2050 Climate Group was born from a need to empower, equip and enable young leaders from across…
Join EVOC for a session focused on how to re-open / re-mobilise your organisation, projects and activities safely.
About this event
Aimed at organisations and managers who are making plans to re-open / re-mobilise, this event will focus on a selection of issues including community transport, workforce and volunteers.
1. National overview: Ian Brooke (Deputy Chief Executive, EVOC)
2. Volunteers: Marion Findlay (Director of Services, Volunteer Edinburgh)
3. Re-opening Guidelines: Angela Davis (Environmental Health Officer, City of Edinburgh Council)
4. WHALE Arts Re-opening Experiences: Laura Delahunt (Enterprise and Facilities Manager, WHALE Arts)
5. Panel Q&A
Breakout group discussions:
Buildings
Volunteers/workforce
Transport
Organising Group work
Guidance/paperwork/risk assessment discussion
Please note that this event is now taking place on Microsoft Teams.
EVENT LINK
Registration for this event closes on Tue 17 Aug at 6pm.
You will receive an email through Eventbrite by 9am on Wed 18 Aug that includes the Teams link for this event.
If you don’t receive an email please check your email junk folder or get in touch with us: esther.currie@evoc.org.uk
The Scottish Government would like to better understand the impact of Covid-19 on the voluntary sector and volunteering. If you are an organisation which has engaged volunteers in the last two years, they would really like to hear your views.
The survey will provide invaluable and up-to-date insights on both the challenges and opportunities facing volunteering and will help to guide the recovery process in 2021 and beyond.
The findings will be published and widely disseminated for the benefit of all volunteer involving organisations.
