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That is an important point. In section 11, on the removal of charities, the bill provides OSCR with a bespoke route to remove a charity from the register when it has failed to provide accounts as required, the deadline for submission has passed, and the charity—this is important in relation to your previous point—has not responded to any communications from OSCR.

The removal process is not automatic. The power is discretionary for OSCR and it will take into account all the information that it has. The removal process starts with giving the charity notice of the intention to remove it, after which it has three months to act. If it makes contact with OSCR in any way during those three months, the process stops and OSCR can use its other powers to ensure that the charity complies with its duty to provide a statement of accounts.

There are various points at which a charity can avoid its removal from the register, and engagement with OSCR is obviously key. If the delay has been caused by either an oversight or problems within the charity, OSCR will want to work with the charity. It is not in anybody’s interests for a charity that is doing good work to end up being removed from the register because of practical issues or problems that have emerged within the organisation.

A consultation with the Information Commissioner’s Office has been carried out as required by the general data protection regulations. As part of the consultation, the Information Commissioner’s Office raised some points that were addressed during the policy development stage. Any amendments made by this bill and involving the processing of personal data all operate within the framework of and, importantly, are consistent with general data protection regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018.

There is a strong argument for members of the public being able easily to access charities’ financial information and information about those who are doing the important work of running charities, given that that involves having responsibility for charitable property and for donations from the public. It is also important that those provisions are accompanied by appropriate safeguards. The dispensation mechanisms that we spoke about earlier allow for certain information to be excluded from the register, the statement of accounts and the record of removed trustees, where inclusion of such information would be

“likely to jeopardise the safety or security of any person”

We covered that earlier.

Rather than concerns having been raised, there are points to consider. As I have just explained, those have been taken on board.

First, it is important to say that any appointment of interim trustees would very much be a time-limited measure to safeguard charities. There might be a scenario in which there is a falling-out within a charity, the trustees all walk away, the charity’s good work cannot continue and something has to be done to safeguard the work of that charity while new trustees are appointed. The circumstances would be very specific and would be time limited.

Interim trustees would not routinely be remunerated. The 2005 act sets out the rules for charity trustee remuneration, starting from the basis that, in general, trustees should not be remunerated for their role as a trustee, although trustees can reclaim expenses—such as the cost of travelling to a trustee meeting—from the charity, and interim trustees would be able to reclaim expenses from the charity in the same way. I think that that would only be fair because, if we do not put that provision in place, there might be financial barriers that prevent someone who does not have a particularly great income from serving as a trustee, whether or not that is on an interim basis. We do not want to put barriers in the way of that person. I hope that my answer has clarified that issue.

I think that OSCR has indicated that interim trustee positions would, for example, be advertised in the local press, and a recruitment panel would be convened with the assistance of the local third sector interface, such as SCVO or a similar organisation. The expectation is that TSIs for each local authority area could also hold a list of individuals who are willing to step in and act as temporary trustees. As you said, that situation will not happen very often, and it just requires an urgent response for a time-limited period, so having that as a back-up sounds quite sensible.

As I have said, I think that diversity is vital. We want charities to be able to draw on people from various backgrounds, but the law needs to treat all charity trustees equally.

With regard to whether OSCR would apply a waiver from disqualification, it would have to do that on the circumstances of the case, which would involve looking at whether the person concerned posed a risk to the charity. That would be the important thing rather than whether the person came from a diverse background.

OSCR would probably take quite an objective test as to whether the person’s disqualification—or whether applying a waiver—would pose a risk to the charity. I think that that is how OSCR would set up the application process for a waiver. Caroline, you might want to make it a bit clearer than I have.

I take your point about whether there is an awareness issue here, but I would just say that disqualification on grounds of bankruptcy applies during the period when the bankruptcy is undischarged. Perhaps communication from OSCR will make it very clear that, once the bankruptcy is discharged, the disqualification will fall away and the individual will be free to take up a trustee position, should they wish to do so, or the individual can apply for a waiver. As I have said, there might need to be some communication from OSCR with regard to that process in order to make things clear.

The other point that I should make is that being disqualified does not stop someone volunteering or working with the charity in a role other than that of a trustee and having a different kind of day-to-day interaction with the charity. What will be important is communication from OSCR to ensure that people understand the current process, the waiver and the opportunity for the individual in question to continue their relationship with a charity in some other role.

I have just set out what is important. We take the point about the need to ensure diversity of experience on charity boards; that is important. However, it is also important that the law treats all charity trustees equally and that no trustee position—such as the treasurer or chair, for example—is more responsible as far as charity regulation is concerned. All trustees are equally responsible for the charity.

I would just reiterate that a person who is otherwise disqualified can apply to OSCR for a waiver from disqualification. Such a mechanism is appropriate in ensuring that disqualification rules are fair and proportionate, and it will serve the Scottish charitable sector well.

OSCR would be liable, because any personal data would be held by OSCR, which is the independent public body. It has, and will have, duties and responsibilities in relation to data processing, just as any organisation does. OSCR will be the data controller for trustee information and the bill provides a legal basis for OSCR to process that personal information. In short, it is for OSCR to determine what information is to be collected and the systems used to process that information. If there were to be a data breach, OSCR would be liable. That is why we will ensure that OSCR, like any other public body, has systems in place to avoid that.

It is. I met OSCR recently. The powers will be important to it. It wants them and believes that they are necessary and proportionate.

As I set out in my opening remarks, one of the overarching aims of the bill is to increase transparency and accountability in the charity sector. Responding directly to the views of the public in OSCR’s surveys and giving people the ability to see how a charity has spent the donations that it has received and who has made those decisions are key elements in increasing public trust. To go back to the provisions in the bill, publishing charity accounts and providing the names of trustees on the register will help to provide the increased transparency and accountability that the public are looking for.

In addition, the bill will bring information about Scottish charities up to the same standard that there is in other parts of the United Kingdom. That is important and is a key plank of the bill. It is not that there is a major issue with public confidence, but anything that can be done to strengthen the public’s confidence in the donations that they give and in accountability and transparency is important.