New report shows profile of Scotland's charity sector

Regulator's report shows extent of public sector funding.
OSCR, communications@oscr.org.uk, 23-01-2012
Regulator's report shows extent of public sector funding.

Scotland's charity regulator has published an update report that provides a wide-ranging profile of the country's charity sector, including, for the first time, a profile of those charities receiving public sector income.

Read Scottish Charities 2011 here.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, OSCR, has produced 'Scottish Charities 2011' to illustrate the scale and activity of the sector .  The report also sets out the geographical location and activity of Scotland's charities, their income and expenditure and stated charitable purposes and tracks how the profile of Scottish charities has changed compared to 2008 and 2005.

In addition to a general profile based on charities' annual and monitoring returns, OSCR commissioned a survey completed by 942 charities to identify charities receiving income from the public sector. This showed that 50% of those charities' income came from public funding.

OSCR's Chief Executive, David Robb, said that he hoped the report would provide a useful reference for charities, funders, researchers, and the public.

'This latest research builds on our previous profiles and provides new information on the scale and nature of charity income from the public sector,' he said.  'We were particularly keen to establish a baseline for public sector income, with charities delivering more public services against a backdrop of reduced public spending.  This will enable us to better understand how future spending decisions might impact on the sector. We are grateful to all those charities who submitted information as part of the survey.'

ENDS

Issued by OSCR, 9 Riverside Drive, Dundee DD1 4NY. For further information, contact Mark Simpson on 01382 220446 or email communications@oscr.org.uk

Background

1. OSCR is the independent regulator and registrar of Scotland's 23,500 charities. OSCR publishes the Scottish Charity Register at www.oscr.org.uk

2. OSCR's vision is for a flourishing charity sector in which the public has confidence, underpinned by OSCR's effective delivery of its role.

3. Scottish Charities 2011 was commissioned by OSCR and researched by independent consultants Jura Consultants.  The details of 23,351 charities were analysed on the basis of the annual and monitoring returns submitted to OSCR. The cut-off date for analysis was 2 September 2011.In addition Jura surveyed a sample of charities to assess the scale and importance of public sector funding in the Scottish charity sector.  A sample of 4,426 charities were invited to take part in the survey and 942 completed questionnaires (22% of the sample) were returned.  The cut-off date for analysis was 2 September 2011.