Major reforms to Scotland's charity laws were introduced last year to try to improve public confidence in the fundraising sector after a series of high-profile controversies.
Major reforms to Scotland's charity laws were introduced last year to try to improve public confidence in the fundraising sector after a series of high-profile controversies.
The need for stronger powers was highlighted by two cases in particular: the Moonbeams children's charity and Breast Cancer Research Scotland.
Moonbeams, which was set up in 1992, was suspended in December 2003 after it was discovered only £70,000 of £3m raised had gone to cancer victims and their families. Breast Cancer Research Scotland spent just £1.5m from £13m collected.
As a result, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act came into force, placing a legal obligation on each charity to submit its accounts for scrutiny.
All charities on the register must submit an annual return to the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).
The act also gave the OSCR increased powers of investigation.
In addition, charitable status was also redefined with a two-stage test.
A register was created and organisations on it must first fall within one of 16 categories of charitable purpose, among them the prevention or relief of poverty, the saving of lives and the advancement of education, then meet an overriding "public benefit" test.
