Moves To Cut Red Tape In Volunteering

Volunteers in Scotland will have fewer forms to fill in as a result of new vetting and barring legislation currently going through the Scottish Parliament.

As well as strengthening protection for children and vulnerable adults, the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (Scotland) Bill eliminates the need for multiple form filling – one of the criticisms of the current system.

So a care home worker, who also volunteers at a Sunday School and runs the local children’s football team, needs only join the scheme once – not three times. And if he or she moves to a new job, or takes up a further volunteering post, a simple online check is all that’s needed to verify they are not barred from working with children or protected adults.

The new system will:
Ensure that those who work or volunteer with children and protected adults do not have a history of violent, abusive or cruel behaviour
Deliver a system of continuous updating which will notify employers if an employee or volunteer becomes unsuitable to work with vulnerable groups
Enable self-employed people, such as private tutors, to prove to parents and carers that they are not disqualified from working with children or protected adults
The Executive will continue to meet the costs of checks for volunteers employed by voluntary organisations

Mr Henry said: “We know that the vast majority of people have the best interests of children and protected adults at heart. But we also know that there are a small number of people who would do them harm and would use the workplace, or the opportunity to volunteer as a means of gaining access to their prey. This legislation is designed to help protect vulnerable people from these individuals.

“But it will also offer significant improvements for those who work or volunteer with children or vulnerable adults, eliminating the need for multiple checks. This is particularly good news for volunteers who often assist a number of organisations, providing children and vulnerable adults with valuable activities, friendship, support and life experiences.

“This is not another layer of red tape and I don’t believe these measures would deter any reasonable person from volunteering. It is an additional safeguard, for employers to use, to ensure that unsuitable people can no longer move to a new job working with children or vulnerable adults.”

The Protection of Vulnerable Groups Bill will:
For the first time in Scotland, create a disqualified from working with protected adults lists
Extend the current disqualified from working with children list
Introduce continuous updating of the barred lists to alert employers if new information about an employee comes to light that may indicate that they have become unsuitable for working with vulnerable groups
Establish a Central Barring Unit to assess whether someone should be placed on one, or both, lists
Introduce individual statements of barred status – allowing private tutors, for example, to prove they are not disqualified from working with children

The Executive will continue to engage and consult extensively during 2007 and 2008 as the details of the vetting and barring scheme are developed through secondary legislation.

This Bill delivers on Recommendation 19 of the Bichard Inquiry Report which called for all those who wish to work with children or vulnerable adults to be registered.