Commission removes itself from Scottish schools decision

Governance | Tania Mason | 1 Dec 2008

The Charity Commission has been careful to distance itself from a decision by the Scottish charity regulator OSCR that four private schools failed to meet its public benefit test.

In a statement, the Commission’s chief executive, Andrew Hind (Andrew-Hind), emphasised that while the England and Wales regulator had been in close contact with OSCR on the decision, charity law is a “devolved issue”.

“The decisions announced today by OSCR do not set a precedent for England and Wales.” he said.

At the end of October (2008) OSCR revealed that of the 30 Scottish charities which took part in Phase 1a of its Rolling Review, designed to explore and refine a process for assessing public benefit, four did not meet the test, while a further seven must amend the wording in their constitutions.

Lomond School in Helensburgh, St Leonards School in St Andrews, Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh and Hutcheson’s Grammar School in Glasgow have been given 12 months to produce a plan for meeting the test, to be implemented within three years, or face removal from the register.

A total of 11 independent schools took part in the review, which was focused on those charities deemed ‘priority’ due to the nature of their activities.

OSCR chief executive Jane Ryder confirmed that the schools had mainly failed due to “significant fees and the fact that there was not sufficient help in place so that those who cannot pay the fees can also benefit from what the charity does”.

Directory: Charity Commission
Who's Who: Tania Mason | Andrew Hind

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