Our policies
We are committed to being an open, transparent and forward-thinking regulator. We have a number of policies in place to support this, and we adhere to the standards set out for public bodies.
Freedom of Information
The Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) provides a general right of access to all types of recorded information held by public authorities.
Please see our Freedom of Information page for more details about the information we hold and how you can make a FOISA request for information.
Equalities and diversity
We are committed to mainstreaming equality and will work in a way which meets our responsibilities as a public authority.
We must perform our functions in a manner that encourages equal opportunities and the observance of equal opportunity requirements. We also have responsibilities under equalities legislation, including:
- Race Relations Act 2000 - race equality duty
- Disability Discrimination Act 2005 - disability equality duty
- Equality Act 2006 - gender equality duty.
Our Equality Strategy sets out how we will meet our equality duties.
Equality Impact Assessments
Equality Impact Assessments we have undertaken can be viewed here:
British Sign Language (BSL)
OSCR has a BSL plan to make sure we meet the needs of anyone who requires BSL interpretation. Find out about our BSL plan here.
Carbon management and climate change
As a public body, we are committed to environmental sustainability and cutting our carbon emissions. Our Environmental Strategy sets out how we plan to do this.
Public Bodies Climate Change Duties
We are bound by the Climate Change Public Bodies Duties set out in Part 4 of the Climate Change Act (Scotland) 2009. These duties require that when exercising our functions we:
- contribute to carbon emissions reduction (climate change mitigation)
- contribute to climate change adaptation
- act sustainably
The Scottish Government’s purpose is to focus government and public services on creating a more successful country with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth. The National Performance Framework sets out how the Scottish Government and other delivery partners will achieve and measure the purpose, and details 16 national outcomes and 50 national indicators. Our work as registrar and regulator of charities aligns to many of these objectives, and our work during the life of our Environmental Strategy will contribute both directly and indirectly to the delivery of many of the national outcomes, most specifically to the following:
- We value and enjoy our built environment and protect it and enhance it for future generations.
- We reduce the local and global environmental impact of our consumption and production
Our biodiversity duty
As a Scottish public body, we have a statutory duty to further the conservation of biodiversity. The Wildlife and Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2011 places a duty on us to make a report publicly available every three years on our compliance with the biodiversity duty. Read our reports here:
Travel Plan
Travel is an essential part of our business, but also a significant part of our carbon footprint. Our Travel Plan sets out our travel usage and our aims to improve how and when we travel.
Annual reporting
The Climate Change Act (Scotland) 2009 further requires us to submit an annual report to Scottish Government, detailing our compliance with the climate change duties. Historical reports are available on the Sustainable Scotland Network (SSN) website.