The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
The Scottish Government’s consultation on the charity regulation review is a vital milestone
In 2019, the Scottish Government began the consultative process for what would become the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023. At the time, many across the sector – including SCVO – were somewhat underwhelmed after hoping for wider reform of charity regulation. It was felt that the proposals, although undoubtedly covering areas of importance, had simply not gone far enough, improving only very specific aspects of relevance to the regulator itself. SCVO, like others in the sector, played a constructive part in that process, and continues to do so as the Act is implemented (see our handy info page on the Act itself) but the feeling that an opportunity had been missed remained.
That disappointment was after calls for a wider review of charity regulation for a number of years, recognising that the world had changed drastically since the inception of the Charities & Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005. And this drastically changed new world was, let’s remember, in 2019 - if the world had changed hugely by then, consider how it’s changed further since! Thankfully, the Scottish Government soon made clear that there would indeed be a wider review of charity regulation and, as a result of that commitment, we have now reached the first important milestone - initial engagement from the Scottish Government in the form of the Charity regulation review: consultation.
This review cannot be another missed opportunity. It presents the voluntary sector with a chance that we have called for over many years, and a chance that may not come again for some time if we allow the review itself to be, once again, focussed on just a few specific aspects. That is why we are encouraging as many organisations across our sector to take the time to engage with this consultation. We know that capacity is at breaking point and there are always more important things to do in the daily existence of organisations than filling out surveys. But the Scottish Government needs to hear loud and clear that not only is a wider review required, but that it needs to be comprehensive, holistic, independent, and with an extensive scope set by voluntary organisations.
SCVO will once again play its role. Our submission to the response will echo what we’ve heard for years – that only a truly effective, wide-reaching review will suffice. We will advocate for the importance of such a review and we will challenge the Scottish Government to recognise any concerns they have over the sector’s capacity to engage in a review as a challenge to overcome by making the review accessible and inclusive, rather than an excuse to whittle down its content. And we will use the ideas and views from our members and further afield in the sector to develop our own suggestions for what the review’s scope should include. In this process, as with any other, SCVO will continue its aim to be a voice for Scotland’s voluntary sector – but we also believe that it is vital that there are as many other sector voices as possible heard via this consultation.
SCVO will be working with the Scottish Government to run two webinars, one on the 4th of June for those working in the sector and the other, for trustees, on the 27th, and I am also inviting anyone who wants to talk about the review or the consultation itself to get in touch with me to arrange a call. That engagement is important so that both the Scottish Government and SCVO can hear the myriad of views on what a review could, and should, contain. But again, I encourage you to also submit your own response if possible, so that we can show collectively how important this review is.
There are now two clear routes ahead for the Scottish Government’s review of charity regulation. On one route, the three technical strands already identified by the Scottish Government make up most, if not all, of the review, which, although important areas in their own right, will simply see another opportunity missed. On the other route is what’s needed - a comprehensive review that is holistic, wide-reaching, and independent, and that seeks to truly modernise the regulatory landscape for the voluntary sector in Scotland. It is now our job as a sector to make sure the Scottish Government cannot ignore that.
