The new powers allow us to appoint interim charity trustees where:

• a charity has less than the minimum number of charity trustees it needs to allow it to appoint more charity trustees, and
• the governing document of the charity doesn’t provide a mechanism for appointing charity trustees in that situation.

Charities that meet both criteria may ask OSCR to appoint an interim charity trustee.  OSCR can only appoint more than one interim charity trustee to a charity where this is needed to allow the charity itself to be able to appoint charity trustees under the terms of its governing document.

If your charity has less than the minimum number of charity trustees that need to be there in order for more charity trustees to be able to be appointed according to your charity’s governing document, and the charity’s governing document doesn’t provide a mechanism to appoint charity trustees in those circumstances, you can ask OSCR to consider appointing an interim charity trustee.  

The majority of existing charity trustees would be required to ask us to consider appointing interim charity trustees.  If there are only two charity trustees in place, either charity trustee could make the request to OSCR.

We may still be able to appoint an interim charity trustee when the majority of charity trustees are unable to ask OSCR to appoint an interim charity trustee if there are a number of charity trustees who cannot be found or who are not carrying out their role as charity trustees.

The new powers also allow us to appoint an interim charity trustee to charities that do not have any charity trustees in place.  We can appoint as many interim charity trustees to a charity as is necessary for the charity to then be able to appoint its own charity trustees.

Our new powers may also be able to help in situations where:

• The charity has charity trustees but none of those people can be found
• The charity has charity trustees but none of those people are actively carrying out their role as charity trustees and are not expected to resume acting as charity trustees

We will not be able to help charities where conflicts of interest mean that some charity trustees cannot participate in meetings or discussions, so an increased number of charity trustees is desirable.  Similarly, where a dispute has occurred and trustees are finding it difficult to work with each other, we will not be able to appoint an interim charity trustee.

Normally the appointment lasts for a maximum of 12 months, but it can be a shorter period. In some circumstances it may be possible for the appointment to be extended for a further 3 months.

The new powers OSCR has can only be used in very specific circumstances.  OSCR cannot help charities to find trustees where for example recruitment campaigns have been unsuccessful or specific skills are required on the Board. 

It is important for charity trustees to regularly review the charity’s governing document so that they understand how many trustees are required to hold meetings and make decisions.   

If you are facing a shortage of trustees, it's crucial to take proactive steps as quickly as possible. 

These steps may include:

• reaching out to your charity’s stakeholders
• leveraging various channels such as social media, networking events, and community forums
• exploring partnerships with other organisations
• using professional networks and trustee recruitment websites.