Charity, they say, begins at home. Just how well a batch of independent schools and other organisations benefiting from charitable status measure up in terms of passing the test that guarantees the advantage will soon be found out. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) confirmed yesterday that 11 independent schools, the National Trust for Scotland, the Scottish Youth Hostel Asssociation and several other bodies will be reviewed to assess performance in the two-part examination for charitable status. Beneficiaries must have a charitable aim and must provide a public benefit.
Charity, they say, begins at home. Just how well a batch of independent schools and other organisations benefiting from charitable status measure up in terms of passing the test that guarantees the advantage will soon be found out. The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) confirmed yesterday that 11 independent schools, the National Trust for Scotland, the Scottish Youth Hostel Asssociation and several other bodies will be reviewed to assess performance in the two-part examination for charitable status. Beneficiaries must have a charitable aim and must provide a public benefit.
If a charity does what it says on its tin, or on the blazer's escutcheon in the case of pivate schools, passing the test should not be arduous. The regulator was established to reassure the public that the money it donated was, indeed, wisely spent after the scandals involving the Breast Cancer Research and Moonbeams charities. These confirmed that the case for the establishment of a watchdog with teeth and a bark was long overdue. The OSCR is in the second phase of a vetting programme of all Scottish charities that could take up to 10 years to complete.
The charities are chosen at random, so the involvement of 11 independent schools in this stage does not reflect badly on them, or any of the other institutions involved. Indeed, Dundee High School retained charitable status after demonstrating that its fees were not unduly restrictive; more than one pupil in 10 received a bursary; and school facilities were made available to local groups. These are reasonable tests to set the private school sector as it gains a benefit in tax breaks (as do other charities) which, were they absent, would result in more money going to the public purse.
It is no bad thing if the OSCR causes independent schools to be more aware of responsibilities to local communities or to consider whether they should offer a greater number of bursaries (a place is still contingent on passing entrance exams). The success of Dundee High School did, however, highlight an anomaly that must be addressed long before the OSCR completes its review. While the school passed the test, John Wheatley College in the east end of Glasgow, serving an area of deprivation, failed. This was because the college, as with others in the further education sector in Scotland, is not independent of ministerial involvement in how funds are spent.
The FE sector is not exactly awash with cash and the loss of up to £25m a year accruing from charitable status would be a tough blow to absorb. The situation is clearly anomalous and the answer lies with the Scottish Government finding a solution that constrains ministerial involvement (charities should be free from that sort of interference). It is not rocket science. The SNP has shown itself to be adept at winning public support by righting wrongs that do not require much in the way of resources or effort to fix. Over to you, Mr Salmond.
