OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator has “extensively rewritten and reformatted” its Meeting the Charity Test guidance, which helps trustees ensure they obey charity law.

The guidance has been published to make it “easier to understand what it takes to become a charity and to stay within the rules on public benefit”.

OSCR says that the basic principles of its guidance have remained the same, but the “new-look guidance is web-based and organised into separate sections for easy reference according to individual needs”.

It says the guidance is written in “clear, non-technical language”, with each section featuring real-life case study examples to illustrate the legal concepts that the regulator considers.

Martin Tyson, head of registration at OSCR, said: “Our updated guidance features a range of case studies based on the type of scenarios we’ve encountered, to help applicants and existing charities to understand what’s required of them, how we look at the charity test, and the issues that can arise.

"It should also help organisations decide whether becoming a charity is the right thing for them in the first place.”

The guidance follows a consultation, launched in March, which asked for feedback on a draft version of the guidance. OSCR said it has been informed from its experience in “assessing and granting status to over 5,000 charities since the last update”.

In the consultation report, also published yesterday, 42 of the 52 respondents felt the new guidance was “very easy, or extremely easy” to navigate.

The update guidance is available in both HTML and PDF format on OSCR’s website, along with further information on the charity test.