OSCR Online returns service used by 10 per cent of Scottish charities2

Governance | Niki May Young | 2 Aug 2012

Less than two months after OSCR launched its online service for submitting accounts and amending charity details, some 10 per cent of Scottish charities have logged in.

When asked, around half of all charities registered with OSCR (the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator) told the regulator that they would prefer to submit electronic returns. In June these 11,567 charities were given login details to OSCR Online, as the service is called.

Since then 2,354 have logged into the system (10 per cent of Scottish charities), including 656 which have submitted their accounts and 285 which have updated their details.

David Robb, chief executive of OSCR said:

"We've seen a really positive start to OSCR Online, with the new system proving robust, and a good proportion of charities logging on.

"OSCR Online saves charities time and cost, and gives more control and flexibility. Thousands of charities have already tried it out - so if you haven't done so already, what are you waiting for?" he said.

In England and Wales charities have been able to submit their returns to the Charity Commission online since 2007. In that year 33 per cent of accounts were submitted online. Currently around three-quarters of charities choose to do so.

OSCR became the Scottish charities regulator in 2005. It originally planned to introduce online filing in April last year but was forced to delay due to a lack of funds. The estimated costs of the system are between £200,000 and £240,000.

Directory: Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)

Place a comment

Peter Munro
Borders Family History Society
2 Aug 2012

I can't understand why David Robb would say "if you haven't (tried out OSCR online) already, what are you waiting for ?".

If a charity isn't ready to submit accounts or a return and their contact details haven't changed, there's no point in logging on.

[Reply]

Mark Simpson
Senior Communications Officer
OSCR
2 Aug 2012
Response to [Peter Munro]

Peter,

Thanks for the comment. Really all we're trying to say is that those who've received login details should visit OSCR Online to familarise themselves with the system so that they're prepared when it's time to file with us or make changes. For example, changing your automatically generated password to something more memorable, and checking your charity's details as entered in the Register is an easy first step.

Likewise, we're keen to encourage those charities who are not yet part of OSCR Online to visit our website and find out more.

Mark

[Reply]

Comments

[Cancel] | Reply to:

Name *

Email *

Organisation

Job Title

Comments *

Verification *

* Please read our Community Standards

Close »

Community Standards

The civilsociety.co.uk community and comments board is intended as a platform for informed and civilised debate.

We hope to encourage a broad range of views, however, there are standards that we expect commentators to uphold. We reserve the right to delete or amend any comments that do not adhere to these standards.

We welcome:

Robust but respectful debate
Strongly held opinions
Intelligent relevant discussion
The sharing of relevant experiences
New participants

We will not publish:

Rude, threatening, offensive, obscene or abusive language, or links to such material
Links to commercial organisations or spam postings. The comments board is not an advertising platform
The posting of contact details for yourself or others
Comments intended for malicious purpose or mindless abuse
Comments purporting to be from another person or organisation under false pretences
Gratuitous criticism, commentary or self-promotion
Any material which breaches copyright or privacy laws, or could be considered libellous
The use of the comments board for the pursuit or extension of personal disputes

Be aware:

Views expressed on the comments board are left at users’ discretion and are in no way views held or supported by Civil Society Media
Comments left by others may not be accurate, do not rely on them as fact
You may be misunderstood - sarcasm and humour can easily be taken out of context, try to be clear

Please:

Enjoy the opportunity to express your opinion and respect the right of others to express theirs
Confine your remarks to issues rather than personalities

Together we can keep our community a polite, respectful and intelligent platform for discussion.