Charitable bodies and other not-for-profit organisations have been exempt from paying for a licence for public performance rights when playing recorded music in their premises. However that is set to change in April 2010 and it is likely that it will lead to substantial increases in the cost to community organisations using recorded and live music in their centres. Join the campaign against the decision and complete a survey on how it will affect your hall.

The Scottish Government has dropped plans to bring in new legislation which could have led to charities acting as 'market operators' having to apply for a licence.

The BIG Lottery Fund (BIG) Scotland office is currently working hard to develop a range of new funding opportunities, which it will launch next year. BIG Scotland would like to hear people's feedback on the application materials it used last time around, and it application processes in general.

The Scottish charity regulator OSCR has published guidance on independent examination, one of the two possible ways of undertaking external scrutiny of accounts, which is particularly appropriate for smaller charities.