IDG53600 - Information disclosure Gateways with other government departments: Office for the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is the independent registrar and regulator of Scottish charities. It is a non-Ministerial Department and forms part of the Scottish Administration.
Which part of HMRC can disclose this information?
Only HMRC business areas that deal with charities should disclose information under this gateway, i.e. the Charities team within Charity, Assets and Residence.
The purpose for which information may be disclosed
For the purposes of enabling or assisting with any of OSCR’s functions. This will typically be to enable OSCR to carry out its enquiries and investigations into individual charities; to deal with deliberate fraud or dishonesty within charities; to provide operational guidance to charities; to conduct review visits to charities; and to maintain its programme of regulatory reports highlighting good practice to help charities improve their own performance and learn lessons from others.
Information which can be disclosed
OSCR may be provided with any HMRC information about any charity for the purposes of enabling or assisting with their functions. We may provide information held in respect of a charity or related body be it registered in Scotland or elsewhere in the UK. The same legislation also permits us to provide information about organisations that are not registered as charities but that have applied for registration. HMRC can also provide HMRC information about bodies controlled by a charity within section 28(1)(b) of the Trustee and Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, such as trading subsidiaries.
Procedure to follow
Exchange of information between HMRC and OSCR will be governed by a Memorandum of Understanding between OSCR and the Charities team within Charity, Assets and Residence. If you are not directly working in the Charities team, please seek further advice before making a disclosure.
Legislation which allows disclosure
- Regulation 3 Statutory Instrument 242/2006 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2006.
Further guidance
If you receive a request for information and are unsure how to proceed please contact your Data Guardian for advice.