Regulator rules charity test met in all four cases.
OSCR, communications@oscr.org.uk, 17-11-2011
Regulator rules charity test met in all four cases.
Four independent schools have had their charitable status
confirmed, following a ruling announced today, 17 November 2011, by
Scotland's charity regulator.
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) had issued
Directions to the schools in October 2008, requiring them to widen
access in order to meet the charity test specified in Scots charity
law. Now, following a final assessment of each school's
progress over the three year period, OSCR has confirmed to the
schools that each of them meets the charity test and will remain on
the Scottish Charity Register.
You can read the reports for each of the schools below:
OSCR's Chair, The Very Reverend Dr Graham Forbes, said that the
outcome demonstrated the positive impact of charity regulation,
with the schools significantly widening access in order to meet
requirements.
'In our role as Scotland's guardian of charitable status, we
have closely scrutinised the submissions made to us by the four
schools and maintained a consistent and ongoing dialogue over the
past three years,' he said. 'Over that period each has been
required to move from a position where access to the benefit they
provided was unduly restricted by the fees they charged, to one
today where significant steps have been taken in order to meet the
charity test. The schools have enhanced financial support for
lower income families and made their facilities more widely
available - in one example, from fewer than three per cent of
pupils receiving financial support to nearly 10 per cent.
'As well as increasing the amount available to help with the
cost of fees, measures now in place include partnerships with state
schools for teaching and the use of resources, and allowing pupils
from local state schools free access to sports facilities,' he
added. 'The schools' submissions in response to our
Directions showed how they would provide, and continue to provide,
public benefit, reflecting their individual characteristics, styles
of education and circumstances.
'Having considered the evidence provided to us, and in the
context of the charity test specified in the legislation, OSCR's
Board has decided that all four schools have taken sufficient steps
so that access to the benefit they provide is no longer unduly
restricted. They therefore provide public benefit and meet
all the requirements of the charity test. We have notified
the schools and have published our final reports (please see the
links above). We will of course continue to monitor the
schools closely to ensure that the actions they have taken to widen
access are maintained.'
Failure to meet the charity test would have seen OSCR take steps
to remove the schools from the Scottish Charity Register.
OSCR will continue to monitor the schools' compliance, and fee
charging schools will remain a priority category in its ongoing
work. OSCR also intends to publish a report in the New Year
summarising all its decisions to date, and containing key lessons
for the charity sector.
ENDS
Issued by OSCR, 9 Riverside Drive, Dundee DD1 4NY.
For further information, contact Mark Simpson on 01382 220446 or
email: communications@oscr.org.uk
Background
- OSCR is the independent regulator and registrar of Scotland's
23,500 charities. OSCR publishes the Scottish Charity
Register at www.oscr.org.uk
- OSCR's vision is for a flourishing charity sector in which the
public has confidence, underpinned by OSCR's effective delivery of
its role.
-
Sections 7 and
8 of the Charities
and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act set out the charity test
that must be met in Scotland. In particular (and in contrast
to the position in England and Wales) the 2005 Act sets out
specific factors which OSCR must look at in assessing whether
organisations pass the test. In summary, a charity must have
exclusively charitable purposes and provide public benefit; and, in
doing so, where conditions exist on gaining access to the benefit
(such as fees), these must not be unduly restrictive. In
addition, OSCR must have regard to issues such as private benefit
and any disbenefit to the public.
- As part of its ongoing review of charitable status, OSCR
assessed the four schools named above in 2007-08. In October
2008 it determined that in each case the charity test was not met
due to unduly restrictive conditions, primarily fees, and
insufficient mitigation to address these. Each school was
issued with a three-part Direction requiring them to confirm their
intention to meet the charity test; to provide OSCR with a plan
setting out how they intended to address the issues which had
caused them to fail the test; and finally, by October 2011, to
demonstrate that they had implemented their proposals.
- Of the 23,500 charities entered in the Scottish Charity
Register, 58 run schools which are also members of the Scottish
Council for Independent Schools. To date, OSCR has assessed
12 independent schools. Of these, six met the charity test;
five (including the above four schools) were issued with Directions
and subsequently met the test; and one is currently under review
(SC005757 Cargilfield School). Fee charging schools remain a
priority group for OSCR in its ongoing work.