Voluntary Sector Gateway West Lothian (VSGWL) is urging organisations to submit views on a consultation by Disclosure Scotland on fees and proposals for discounting in the PVG scheme.
Disclosure Scotland is consulting on the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme fee waivers, discounting and accredited body fees.
One of the proposals is to introduce fees for volunteering, removing the current waiver for volunteers in Qualifying Voluntary Organisations and applying a reduced fee. There are other proposals to apply a fee reduction in other circumstances.
The consultation is live now and closes on Tuesday 28 May. You can access the consultation at: consult.gov.scot/disclosure-scotland/fees-discounting-waivers-and-accredited-bodies/
Alan McCloskey, VSGWL`s CEO said: “Given the significant challenges facing volunteer led organisations and the focus on delivering a Volunteering Action Plan for Scotland, we believe the proposals to increase costs for volunteers and the third sector are counter intuitive and a backward step. We are opposed to those proposals.”
“At a time when we want to encourage more people to participate and volunteer, develop more inclusive volunteering opportunities and remove barriers to volunteering, the proposals are more likely to stifle progress.”
“We encourage all third sector organisations to consider responding to the consultation.”
Volunteer Scotland is also inviting organisations to get involved – https://www.volunteerscotland.net/news/disclosure-scotland-fees-update-and-next-steps
