Charity law in Scotland faces a wide-ranging shake-up

The test is part of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Bill which is going through Holyrood.

MSPs voted unanimously in favour of the general principles of the bill, enabling it to proceed to stage two.

A move by the Scottish National Party to make the public benefit test more difficult for private schools to pass was defeated by 77 votes to 39.

A similar amendment, in the name of Socialist MSP Tommy Sheridan, supporting the removal of private and other fee-paying schools from the "artificial cover" of charitable status, was also rejected by 77 votes to eight, with 32 abstentions.

Public outcry

During a stage one debate, Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm said charities would have to prove their public benefit to qualify for charitable status.

The bill will introduce stricter controls and tougher rules on fund raising by charities.

The proposals, which follow a series of charity scandals, will strengthen the role of The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR).

It will register all charities in Scotland that meet the new test, which is based on a list of all charitable purposes and the need to be able to demonstrate public benefit.

The move follows a public outcry when it was discovered only a fraction of the donations received by the charities Breast Cancer Research Scotland and the Moonbeams children's charity was actually spent on charitable purposes.

If the bill becomes law, charities will have to submit annual accounts before they can pass the test.

'Robust test'

Much of the focus has fallen on discussion about whether or not independent schools should or would lose their charitable status as a result of the proposed legislation.

Mr Chisholm told MSPs: "The bill does not make judgements about specific types of charity but seeks to provide a robust test against which all charities can be judged.

"It is a key principle that all charities should have to prove that they provide public benefit before they can access the substantial benefits of charitable status."

The Scottish National Party's communities spokeswoman, Christine Graeme, called for greater clarification of the executive's proposals.