Executive Pressured On Vetting Bill

A coalition of more than 20 Scottish charities is calling on the Scottish Executive to create a fund to help them deal with a new law set to be enforced early next year. The charities say that new requirements to security check staff and volunteers working with children and vulnerable adults will leave the voluntary sector millions of pounds out of pocket. It is also feared that confusion about the new laws could put members of the public off volunteering for local groups and charities.

The charities, which include major children’s organisations such as Barnardo’s and Children’s 1st as well as those working with adults such as Sense and Scottish Women’s Aid, united in their concerns about aspects of the Protection of Vulnerable Groups bill.

In a document to be sent to MSPs they came up with a five key areas that they believe need to change in the legislation. As well as concerns about the costs of disclosure checks, the coalition is angry that the government is not allocating additional funds to inform staff and volunteers about the new legislation.

The move could mean the executive repeats the mistake it made during the introduction of current disclosure legislation, the Protection of Children Scotland Act, when it had to delay the implementation of the act for three months.

Lucy McTernan, director of corporate affairs at the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), said: “We recognise that the bill could bring great improvements for the Scottish voluntary sector, and ultimately for vulnerable groups in Scotland. However, for the Vetting and Barring Scheme to be successful, we will need a great deal of effort from everyone to get this working on the ground.

“There are tens of thousands of voluntary organisations in Scotland working with vulnerable groups. It’s essential that sufficient funds are available for training in the sector to make this legislation workable.”