When Westminster sets up a new fundraising regulator, as it surely will following the report of Sir Stuart Etherington into excessive tactics by some charities, should Scotland pick a different course?
That might seem a tricky question. Some of the stories and exposes during a feverish media onslaught which has played out south of the border over the summer have been simply appalling. Members of the public appear to have had their details sold on from charity to charity, up to 200 times in one case highlighted, and seen them passed to scam companies which have ripped them off. People with dementia and other vulnerable individuals have been placed on ‘sucker’ lists, it is alleged, and badgered for donations, deluged with phone calls and direct mail.
Scotland is not immune to fundraising problems. The New Pyjamas appeal for Edinburgh’s Sick Kids Hospital collapsed after targeting £15million in donations and spending £500,000 to bring in only £60,000. The Kiltwalk came close to collapse when supporting charities pulled out amid concern that its managers were unable to cope with the pace of its growth.
But there is a reason why, when the National Council for Voluntary Organisations published Sir Stuart’s report calling for major changes, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) put out its own review calling for a more measured approach. We simply haven’t seen the same excesses by Scottish based charities.
That doesn’t mean large UK-wide charities haven’t used the same tactics in their fund-raising north of the border. In fact it is a relatively small number of very large UK charities, often working through sub-contracted fundraising firms, that have been the main focus of concern.
So do Scottish charities risk being caught up in new and restrictive English rule changes? They certainly do, unless something changes, because while charity law is devolved, rules for fundraising are currently set by UK bodies.
It could be argued that the SCVO report did not go far enough in presenting strong alternative proposals. Nobody could claim surprise if the Westminster government does take a strong line. Before Etherington had even reported, David Cameron announced plans for tough new laws to protect vulnerable people from aggressive fundraising.
But charities need to tread a fine line between protesting the Etherington proposals and looking as if they just want carte blanche to fundraise unchecked. SCVO and others can continue to call for self-regulation, but it may take Scottish Government action to create a separate system for Scotland, which clearly has a distinctive third sector, and one which could be damaged by knee-jerk changes in reaction to problems which have their roots south of the border.
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