Charity accounts 'name and shame'

The vast majority of charities submitted their details on time

Almost 300 charities have been accused of failing to file up-to-date accounts.

Regulators the Office of the Scottish Charity Register (OSCR) named the 294 charitable bodies in a bid to encourage compliance with new regulations.

The names were published on the first of what is to be a monthly list of charities that have not submitted their latest accounts and an annual return.

Under the rules, charities have to submit details within set deadlines after their financial year-ends.

All the charities named in the first monthly list have March, April and May 2006 financial year-ends.

They range from the Cash for Kids at Christmas, based in Glasgow, to the Queen's Own Highlanders Regimental Trust regimental museum, the Scottish region of the Family Planning Association, and the Yell Public Halls Association in Shetland.

'Public accountability'

OSCR's head of monitoring and investigation, Kirsty Gray, said 97% of Scotland's 23,500 charities had submitted details on time.

She added: "Every charity must supply us with their accounts and an annual return or monitoring return form within a specified time so that we, as regulator, can be satisfied that charities are demonstrating public accountability."

Ms Gray said the list also showed the importance of keeping OSCR up to date with contact details, as charities might not receive reminder letters if they had not notified the regulator of contact changes.

She added: "It may be that a number of charities on the list have not kept us up to date with changes to their principal contacts.

"If an annual report and accounts is not received within 12 months of their deadline date, charities risk removal from the register."

A spokesman for Cash For Kids said it had submitted its accounts to OSCR and would be contacting the regulator for clarification.

The new regulations were put in place after high-profile cases involving Breast Cancer Research Scotland and Moonbeams. Only a fraction of the money raised for those charities went to good causes.