New regulation came into effect on 30 June
Scotland’s charity regulator has reported a strong response to new rules requiring charities submit to submit trustee information.
New laws came into effect on 30 June 2025, and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator has reported that in just over a month, almost 10% of charities have already submitted charity trustee information.
To date, the system has recorded details for over 15,000 charity trustees, with an average of five charity trustees per charity.
The data reflects the diversity of Scotland’s charity sector, with charity trustees ranging in age from 16 to 97 and representing organisations of all sizes and purposes, OSCR said.
In total, 2,372 charities have submitted information about their charity trustees so far, ensuring they are meeting their reporting requirements well ahead of schedule. The data also shows that submissions are continuing to grow steadily, with an average of 54 charities per day submitting information over the past two weeks.
A stement said: “This strong uptake demonstrates that charities are actively engaging and complying with the updated rules. By providing this data, charities are helping to build public trust and confidence in the sector, ensuring that governance is visible and accountable.
“This data will be increasingly useful in helping OSCR and the charity sector to get a more accurate picture on issues like trustee recruitment.”
Any charity completing a new online annual return created on or after 30 June 2025, will be required to include charity trustee information as part of the submission.
While this requirement does not apply to online annual returns created before 30 June 2025, the regulator is encouraging charities to provide trustee details as soon as possible to ensure their compliance with the new legislation.
Martin Tyson, head of regulation and improvement at OSCR, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many charities responding so quickly to the new charity trustee reporting requirements. This level of engagement shows how seriously the sector takes transparency and good governance.
“Trustee data helps us all better understand the people who lead charities and strengthens public confidence in the work they do.”
