Disclosure Scotland publish consultation analysis report on fees discounts and waivers - what next?
/
The report outlines key findings and is being used to inform the policy development on the future fees for Disclosure Scotland services.
We responded to the consultation in June, with input from organisations in the CHEX network. This consultation was particularly relevant to community-led health organisations, as the type of volunteer work in this sector usually requires a PVG.
Our response highlighted that the proposals in the consultation meant organisations would have to meet additional costs. This could then cause the reduction of other provision and activities, organisations having to spend time and resource seeking additional funding or larger grant awards and/or reducing or stopping volunteer recruitment.
The consultation report shows widespread and strong opposition to the proposals, with 75% of the 1200 responses saying they did not agree.
It also reflected other elements in our response, including that the increased complexity of the process would burden organisations with more administrative work and the issue that the need to provide additional evidence of personal circumstances may be a barrier to potential volunteers.
Volunteer Scotland responded: "This report reinforces our belief that the decision to replace the current fee waiver for volunteers in QVOs with a fee discount is completely untenable. We again urge the government not to proceed down this path."
Funding and resources are already precarious, and, with volunteer recruitment dropping across the country, the proposed changes would only present additional barriers and challenges to participation in volunteering in community-led health. We hope that the new fee regulations, which will be laid out early this year, reflect the evidence from the consultation response.