Crisis claims over charity pay order
New finance rules to reveal chiefs’ wages
New laws that would force charities to reveal more details about executive pay would lead to the closure of some third sector organisations, it has been claimed.
Charities have said they can’t afford to comply with the regulations requiring greater detail about how they spend their money.
Publicly funded bodies say it would be too expensive to meet new transparency laws and list outgoings.
The body that represents voluntary organisations and the charity watchdog even claim extending the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) could force groups to close.
The Scottish Government ended its consultation on expanding the law to cover more groups that provide public services last month.
But the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), the third sector umbrella group, warned the move could hit budgets hard. Policy and campaigns officer Paul Bradley said: “SCVO supports the overall aim of FOI legislation.
“We do, however, hold concerns around the potential financial and operational implications for voluntary organisations. “We question the robustness of Scottish Government engagement with the voluntary sector to date and during the consultation period.” Critics claim the charities are opposing being open to FOI requests at a time trust in them has never been lower. A string of controversies has damaged the sector including revelations about fatcat pay for senior executives. Earlier this year, it was revealed the proportion of people making donations fell to 57 per cent from 61 per cent in 2016. Carole Ewart, of the Campaign for FOI in
Scotland, said: “More of these groups are delivering public services and should be open to the same level of transparency as other public organisations.”
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator backed cal ls for a charge on FOI requests . Engagement manager Caroline Monk said: “The funding pressures on the charities are well known. Their ability to deliver services and comply with FOISA may be incompatible with the resources available.”
A Scottish Parl iament report said about 25 per cent of third sector income comes from public contracts. A Government spokesman said: “The consultation was broad and will inform our next steps, which will involve consultation with organisations that might be affected.”