Charity begins at home

02/12/2008

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has recently sought help from SHQ over 32 Scout bodies that are at risk of losing their charitable status because of a failure to complete the required Annual Return. Almost all the Groups concerned are still operating. A small number seem to have simply ignored the correspondence from OSCR. In most cases the problem is that OSCR has not been notified of a change in the named contact person and have thus been sending correspondence to persons who are no longer involved.

With the help of SHQ, all these Groups are being given one last chance by OSCR to comply with the reporting requirements for charities. If they fail to respond they will be removed from the register of Scottish Charities. Ramifications would include the Groups being unable to claim Gift Aid and, if they owned their own premises, losing mandatory relief from Council rates charges.

There are benefits to Scout bodies being registered as charities. SHQ has agreed a simplified registration process with OSCR - for the registration form, click here. However, there are also duties and responsibilities too. An Annual Return form must be completed, which, in most cases is a very simple exercise. When registering, a Principle Contact must be identified for future OSCR communication. Should this person leave, or otherwise cease to be the contact, it is a requirement that OSCR is notified. Failure to do so may lead to de-registration by default.

It is a requirement of POR that the Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of a Scout District / Region, be at least Associate Members and thus recorded in our membership database. Group Office Bearers are also encouraged to become Members or Associate Members. With the 2009 Census coming up, please take the opportunity to ensure that your house is in order. With the right information on the Membership Services System, SHQ can communicate directly with office bearers rather than putting yet more demands on GSLs and Commissioners. It will also ensure that, should you have unwittingly failed to notify OSCR of changes to key contacts, SHQ might be able to help save your Group from unfortunate consequences.

For further information and publictions from OSCR, visit www.oscr.org.uk.