Question reference: S4W-13120
- Asked by: Mark McDonald, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish National Party
- Date lodged: 18 February 2013
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Current status: Answered by John Swinney on 26 February 2013
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether the use of door-to-door collection bags by charities is subject to the same rules as other types of charitable collection.
Answer
The current public charitable collection legislation provides for the collection from the public of money for charitable purposes taken either in a public place or by means of visits from place to place.
Sections 84 to 92 of the Charities and Trustees (Scotland) Act 2005, which have not yet been commenced, set out a new system of licensing public benevolent collections, which includes collections of money, direct debits and goods.
In 2010 officials conducted a consultation with local authorities on introducing the provisions of sections 84 to 92. The consultation findings showed there was little appetite for changing the current regulatory scheme and a number of local authorities voiced concerned that any new licensing scheme could be an unnecessary administrative burden.