PLANS FOR a crackdown on Scottish charities were unveiled yesterday in a bid to boost public confidence after a string of scandals, write Steve Bargeton, political editor, and Graham Huband.

Breast Cancer Research Scotland had its assets frozen last year after an investigation discovered that just £1.5 million of the £13 million it raised had actually been donated to charity.

The Court of Session ordered that the directors of the Moonbeams children’s cancer charity be permanently removed after they failed to answer allegations that just £70,000 of almost £3 million raised went to sufferers and their families.

The two high-profile cases and a number of other allegations involving smaller charities have led to a crisis of public confidence in charities.

Scotland has more than 25,000 charities and Scots give them around £250 million a year.

The Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill, published yesterday, aims to restore public confidence by introducing more controls on charities.

Measures in the new legislation include a new definition of a charity, based on the principle of public benefit.

Once the bill becomes law organisations will have to demonstrate that they exist for the “public good” in order to win charitable status.

This test will also apply to independent schools.

The bill also gives tougher powers for the Dundee-based Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), which was set up 12 months ago.

That body will have responsibility for granting charitable status and maintaining a statutory register of all charities operating in Scotland.

Launching the bill yesterday, Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm said it was vital that the public saw charities as trustworthy.

“The public rightly expect to be reassured that the ways in which our charities operate are effective, transparent and trustworthy,” he said. “This bill seeks to safeguard this.

“We know there are over 25,000 charities in Scotland and it’s important that there are efficient mechanisms in place to allow the regulator to investigate and act against any alleged wrong-doing, to ensure that the standing of charities as a whole is not affected.

“I have no doubt that the measures contained in this bill, such as the publicly available register of all charities, will help to support charities in the work they do and strengthen the trust we all place in them.”

OSCR chief executive Jane Ryder welcomed the bill as a vehicle to modernise charity law in Scotland and create a “fair and consistent” regulatory framework for charity groups.

“Through our extensive consultation and contact with the sector over the last year we know that the move to establish OSCR as a single point of contact for granting charitable status, monitoring and regulation is a welcome one,” she said.

“The bill is an opportunity to set out a new Scottish definition of charity and create a fair and consistent framework for the ongoing regulation of charities in Scotland.

“Measures to improve the operating environment for charities, such as widening trustees’ powers of investment and simpler re- organisation requirements, will enable charities to operate more effectively.

“The bill will enable OSCR to regulate charities proportionately and transparently. In addition, OSCR will publish a definitive index of active charities in Scotland and greater information about charities.”

Martin Sime, chief executive of the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, said, “This bill will make a big and positive impact on charity in Scotland.

“It will underpin public support for thousands of good causes and will, for the first time, provide a proper framework for community action, including a modern definition of charity based on public benefit.”