Scottish Ministers have set 5 March 2026 for the start of new transparency rules for registered charities, via the Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 (Commencement No. 3 and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 (SSI 2026/98). The instrument commences sections 2, 10 and 11 of the 2023 Act, covering disclosure of trustee names and publication of accounts with independent scrutiny reports.
Section 2 amends the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 so that each charity’s entry on the Scottish Charity Register must include the names of all charity trustees. The long‑standing power to withhold information from the Register extends to these names, allowing exemptions where publication would risk the safety or security of any person or premises; OSCR will assess such applications on a case‑by‑case basis. (oscr.org.uk)
A transitional rule applies to organisations already on the Register before 5 March 2026. OSCR will not display trustee names until a charity has provided them for this purpose. In practice, trustee details can be supplied through the online annual return or by updating records in OSCR Online, which opened for trustee data collection in June 2025. (oscr.org.uk)
What OSCR collects goes beyond what will be published. For regulatory purposes charities must submit specified contact and identity details for each trustee; however, only first and last names are scheduled to appear on the public Register once the new rules take effect. (oscr.org.uk)
Section 10 introduces a publication duty alongside record‑keeping. OSCR must preserve submitted statements of account and the associated independent examiner’s or auditor’s report for at least five years and make them publicly accessible. For charities, this shifts practice from selective release with redactions to routine online availability of the documents in the form filed. (oscr.org.uk)
Section 11 makes consequential updates to the 2005 framework. In parallel, commencement of section 10 activates related provisions of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 (SSI 2025/341), which align the 2006 Accounts Regulations with publication requirements and the safety and security dispensation. (gov.scot)
For trustees and finance leads, the immediate actions are administrative. Ensure at least one designated OSCR Online user can input trustee information, confirm all current trustees are captured, and bring forward updates rather than waiting for the next return cycle to avoid a publication gap when the rules commence. (oscr.org.uk)
With accounts and trustees’ annual reports to be published in full, charities should review the personal data included in those documents, minimising references to volunteers or beneficiaries and limiting images unless necessary. Privacy notices should be updated to reflect public disclosure of trustee names and a five‑year retention period. (oscr.org.uk)
The Charities (Regulation and Administration) (Scotland) Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 9 August 2023. Earlier measures came into force during 2024 and 2025; the March 2026 changes implement the remaining transparency provisions on trustee identity and publication of reports and accounts. (parliament.scot)