This following section is an extract from the Land Reform Consultation.
"Proposal 6: Duty of community engagement on charitable trustees when taking decisions on land management
All landowners should consider the ways in which decisions they take on land management impact on the local community. Other proposals in this paper consider the role of public and private sector landowners. This proposal considers the relationship between charitable organisations that own land and the local communities who may be affected by decisions taken on the use, management or transfer of that land.
Charity trustees are responsible for the governance and strategy of the charity. They are responsible for making sure that their charity is administered effectively and can account for its activities and outcomes.
At present, under section 66 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 (the 2005 Act), trustees of a charitable organisation must comply with a number of general and specific duties - including a duty to act in a manner consistent with the purposes of the charity. The 2005 Act recognises that other legislation may impose duties on the trustees and the obligation to act in accordance with the purposes of the charity is without prejudice to any other legislative duties.
We would propose adding a specific stand alone duty on trustees of a charity that when considering the management, use or transfer of any land under the charity’s control, the trustees must engage with the local community and consider the potential impact on the local community before taking any decision.
This consideration will require to be balanced with the exercise of their other functions and their duty to act in the interests of the charity and to ensure that the charity acts in a manner which is consistent with its purposes.
The details of such a duty and how it would balance with the trustees’ other duties and the charitable purposes of the charity will need to be considered. We would welcome your views on how to achieve this balance."