Statement in response to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) public benefit announcements, 28th October 2008

(Immediate Release -28 October 2008)

In response to today’s publication by OSCR of the decisions on their rolling reviews of the charitable status of charities, Andrew Hind, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission in England and Wales said; "We note the results of the public benefit reviews conducted by the Scottish charity regulator OSCR, and we have been in close contact with them as they have developed their approach.

Charity law is a devolved issue. The decisions announced today by OSCR do not set a precedent for England and Wales. OSCR’s charity test is undertaken by the Scottish regulator under Scottish law: it is entirely separate from the jurisdiction within which we work in England and Wales.

This means, in practice, that charities registered in Scotland are subject to a different legal and regulatory framework to those registered in England or Wales.

As the Charity Commission for England and Wales, we have set out our guidance on our understanding of the law with regards to public benefit. It is within this framework that we will assess whether a charity registered in England and Wales has purposes which are for the public benefit.”

Notes to Editors

1. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales.
2. The Charity Commission published its own guidance on public benefit in January 2008, which can be accessed at: http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/publicbenefit/default.asp
3. The Charity Commission announced the beginning of its process of public benefit assessment on 7th October 2008 and aims to publish the conclusions of the first assessments in Spring 2009. All charities in England and Wales are required to start reporting on the public benefit they provide from 31st March 2009. For further information call the Charity Commission Press Office on 020 7674 2333