BUT not in England and Wales
13th December 2000
Essential criminal record checks for volunteers working with children are to be free in Scotland but not in England and Wales unless the Government changes its current proposals for the Criminal Records Bureau.
Yesterday (12 December 2000) the Scottish Executive announced that it is to allocate £1million a year to provide criminal records checks at no cost to volunteer organisation working with children. Northern Ireland has already announced free checks.
The news from Scotland has increased the frustration and anger amongst leading UK youth organisations who also provide youth work in England and Wales.
For over 18 months The Scout Association has worked closely with many other voluntary organisations to press the Home Office to rescind its proposals that voluntary youth workers should have to pay at least £10 for every thorough check made using the proposed Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) due to open in 2001.
"In our case, the proposals will take about £750,000 a year away from our work with young people. All the other youth organisations are facing the same tax on volunteering", says Derek Twine, Chief Executive of The Scout Association.
"Anyone who has read details of some of the most recent tragic cases where known paedophiles have targeted youth groups must feel concerned that Ministers, who have the power to alleviate this tax on the voluntary sector, are declining to act. In Scotland the politicians are demonstrating their genuine commitment to the value of the work of the voluntary sector making it much harder for ill intentioned adults to exploit the vulnerability of the young people they look after. It's about time that the Home Secretary followed the lead of his Scottish colleagues," he continued.
As well as Scouting, all the other voluntary youth organisations are affected, as are St John Ambulance, Red Cross, all volunteer sports groups working with young people (such as swimming, soccer, athletics, tennis), church based youth work and the work of many caring organisations such as the NSPCC.
For the first time in its 90 year history, Scouting has been actively encouraging its local Members to lobby their MP's. Mr Twine explains the reason for this unusual step: "Without positive action by Government, there is a very real risk that fewer adult volunteers will be available to support, work with and care for the nation's young people in local communities, especially areas where youngsters are most at risk." He points out that the Government has described volunteering as 'the essential act of citizenship, and a powerful means of social inclusion'. "So let us see their actions matching their speeches", he concludes.
For further information contact: Public Relations Department (public.relations@scout.org.uk)
