In May last year, the Scottish Government opened its consultation on a series of Disclosure Scotland proposals, including steps to provide PVG discounts to care experienced people and those on particular benefits. Alongside these admirable proposals, there was one specific suggestion that immediately raised concerns across Scotland’s voluntary sector –the proposal that the PVG fee waiver currently in place for those volunteering with Qualifying Voluntary Organisations could be replaced by a fee discount instead.
It is, of course, SCVO’s position that some of the other proposals put forward are positive and could ensure volunteering is more accessible and inclusive. We support any move to dismantle the barriers to volunteering that people face. However, like Volunteer Scotland and many others across the sector, it is also our position that such steps cannot be achieved by simply heaping further pressure upon voluntary organisations.
The sector is struggling. We’ve had crisis after crisis, increased demand for essential services, challenges with recruiting and retaining of staff and volunteers alike, and ongoing issues with the unsustainable approach to sector funding by the Scottish Government. And so, with the government publishing its analysis on the responses to these proposals earlier in the month, there should be no surprise that “there was a high level of opposition to the proposal to move from a full fee waiver to a discount for volunteers in Qualifying Voluntary Organisations”.
It seems somewhat baffling to think that anyone really believed there could be anything but opposition from the sector to a proposal that Volunteer Scotland has called a "tax on volunteering". In fact, the analysis confirms that over 75% of 1,200 respondents disagreed with it. As we detailed in our response at the time, the Scottish Third Sector Tracker has shown quite clearly that financial difficulties, increased demand for services, and volunteer shortages continue to plague voluntary organisations across Scotland. Similarly, the Scottish Household Survey 2023 has highlighted that volunteering rates continue to decrease significantly year on year. It is merely common sense, therefore, that when volunteer recruitment is already an issue, you will only exacerbate it by introducing charges for PVGs.
Whether organisations themselves would attempt to absorb these costs on behalf of volunteers, resulting in yet more financial strain, or prospective volunteers could be scared off when organisations wouldn’t - or couldn’t – absorb such payments, we once again find ourselves trying to ward off policy suggestions that would only compound our sector’s difficulties.
It would appear that Scotland’s voluntary sector continues to be an afterthought in policymaking. Having to use consultation responses to point out the additional burdens that will be placed on our organisations is a regular occurrence for SCVO and others. Crucial services across our sector are now placed at risk by the increase to employers’ National Insurance contributions by the UK Government. The Scottish Government’s lack of progress on Fairer Funding, at a time when Fair Funding is urgently required, continues to ensure that the future is precarious for some organisations in our sector.
It appears, perhaps more than ever, that ours is a sector always near the front of the queue when warm words and platitudes are being handed out, but consistently at the back when it comes to positive, tangible action.
Given the very clear conclusions reached in the Scottish Government’s consultation analysis, it is surely inconceivable that the proposal to remove the PVG fee waiver can be taken forward. It certainly appears from these proposals that there is a need for Disclosure Scotland to be properly resourced to allow it to then improve the accessibility of volunteering for the identified groups, and if any organisations can sympathise with a lack of resourcing directly impacting on what can be positively achieved it is undoubtedly Scotland’s voluntary organisations. But such capacity building must be met by the Scottish Government rather than placing financial burdens and increased barriers on voluntary organisations yet again.