In the news last week...

Charities with no clear link to Scotland could be taken off the country’s register
In a consultation, the Scottish government suggested that charities registered with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator should ‘have and retain a connection to Scotland’, and the regulator should have the power to remove them if they do not. The consultation paper says that there is currently no requirement for any charity registered in Scotland to have any activities in the country or any Scottish trustees, making them more difficult to regulate.
Scottish charities may also have to start publishing its annual report and accounts in full on the Scottish charity register, ending the OSCR’s practice of redacting charity accounts for data-protection reasons – the consultation will run until 1 April.

Northern Ireland charity leaders fear effect of no-deal Brexit on fundraising
In a poll by CO3 and Ulster Bank, published yesterday, more than three-quarters of voluntary sector leaders in the north of Ireland believe that a no-deal Brexit would lead to a fall in fundraising income. Of the 101 respondents, 61% said demand for their charity’s services had increased over the past three months, and more than half of the leaders said their organisations were facing financial pressures. Of the respondents, 72% said they thought political stability in the north of Ireland would get worse over the coming year.
NCVO has called on charities to speak up about the “very real consequences” of a no-deal Brexit scenario to avoid further harm to communities – read the full article here.

NCVO publishes guidance on ethical behaviour
As part of a new set of ethical principles, the National Council for Voluntary Organisations has called on charities to proactively champion ethical behaviour and apply their values to everything they do.
The Charity Ethical Principles guidance, published last week, identifies ‘putting beneficiaries first, integrity, openness and the right of charity workers to be safe as key values that charities should uphold’ – View the full document here.