Jane Ryder, outgoing chief executive of the Scottish regulator OSCR, has suggested delegating some of its regulation to Scottish umbrella bodies, and introducing ‘filing fees’ and fines for Scottish charities.

Speaking at OSCR’s recent annual meeting, Ryder who departs this month, said the regulator was facing limited resources and would have to rely more on self-regulation, perhaps led by umbrella bodies:

“Umbrella organisations already perform a valuable role,” she said. “Can they go further? And how far can we legitimately delegate?"

The idea mirrors a suggestion by the Charity Commission, who last month said it was hoping that umbrella bodies could take on some of its advice function for charities  working in England and Wales.

The move, however, has prompted a lukewarm response from the sector, who broadly believe the role of regulation should remain with the Charity Commission.

The Scottish umbrella body, SCVO, shares similar views.  John Downie, SCVO’s director of public affairs, told civilsociety.co.uk:

"SCVO does not support the view of OSCR that umbrella bodies could get more involved in regulating charities. This firmly sits within the remit of OSCR whereas the role of umbrella bodies is to focus on building the capacity and contribution of the sector.

“Rather than straying into training and support where umbrella bodies are best placed to make a difference, we would like to see OSCR focus on its regulatory role."

Ryder also suggested that a system of peer review could replace some of its regulation, but she added: “There are legal and accountability considerations and there would certainly be infrastructure and running costs: would this simply transfer the costs from OSCR to individual charities?”

Filing fees

During the meeting, Ryder also talked of introducing a filing fee for Scottish charities and fines:

“OSCR was introduced with a policy of “no fees, no fines”, she said.“That was entirely appropriate at the time, but ten years on or more, there may be different considerations.

“On the one hand, charities are likely to find it difficult to raise funds from the public in order to pay filing fees to OSCR. On the other hand, fees might relieve pressure on OSCR resources and fines can be a very useful intermediate sanction, which a well-run charity should not, after all, encounter.”

Ryder added that personally she was not sure whether she would favour introducing fees or fines, but said it was a debate for the future.

Jane Ryder leaves OSCR this month after eight years at the helm since its creation in 2003.

Sustainability of charities

Marking her departure at the meeting, Ryder said: "My personal view is that if OSCR were established now there would be a much more explicit role in examining and securing greater relative effectiveness and long-term sustainabilility of individual charities, particularly if charitable status continues to be explicitly linked to tax reliefs."

David Robb, the Scottish government's head of public service reform and efficiency, will be the second chief executive at OSCR, starting this month.  

Elsewhere, OSCR is inviting views on its first-ever Draft Public Focus Strategy. Proposals include more public-facing communications, stronger relationships with representative bodies and new methods of gathering feedback.  Comments are invited until Friday 23 December 2011.