OSCR publishes Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24
The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) has today published its Annual Report and Accounts for the year 2023-24.
The report explains more about the work we have done during the past year, highlights our achievements and progress against our corporate objectives, and shows how we have spent our budget.
Some of the key facts and figures for 2023-24 include:
- We have worked to reengage with charities who have failed to submit their accounts to us, and have removed inactive charities from the Scottish Charity Register. The number of charities failing to submit accounts to us has decreased by 400.
- We launched a new online annual return to provide more tailored support and guidance to help charities get it right first time.
- We refreshed our inquiry policy and launched a new online form for concerns. The number of concerns received which were not appropriate for OSCR to deal with reduced by 5% compared to the previous year.
- 100% of applications from charities to make certain changes (such as changing their name or purposes) were completed within 28 days.
The year 2023-24 has been a positive and productive year for the organisation. We started the year with the launch of our 2023-26 Corporate Strategy, setting out how we will work as a modern, forward-thinking regulator, and outlining our priorities and planned outcomes for the next three years. The Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 received Royal Assent in August 2023, and work started on the planning and delivery around the implementation of the Act. In addition to this, we launched our new Regulatory Priorities, continued streamlining our work and embracing Public Service Reform principles to help ensure we regulate in a way that is efficient and effective.
OSCR’s Board Chair Marieke Dwarshuis said:
"Looking back over the year, I can see clear evidence of OSCR’s achievements and hard work during a challenging period. By working in a flexible manner to meet changing demands and priorities, and embracing the need to implement operational efficiencies, we are in a strong position to regulate in a way which builds trust and confidence in Scottish charities.
"I have no doubt that this has been greatly enabled by the strong and positive leadership which has been shown by Maureen Mallon, who retired from her post as OSCR’s Chief Executive in June 2024. We are all looking forward to working with her successor, Katriona Carmichael, on the next stage of OSCR’s journey, building on the fantastic work done during 2023-24."
Read the Annual Report and Accounts 2023-24 here.