Call to cut barriers to volunteering

Regeneration & Renewal

1 February 2008

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A government task force should be set up to remove the bureaucratic hurdles preventing people from volunteering, a major inquiry into the future of volunteering has recommended.

A study by the Commission on the Future for Volunteering (CFV) says that red tape such as unnecessary Criminal Record Bureau checks for positions that do not need vetting can often act as obstacles to volunteering. Misinformation can also be a problem, with Jobcentre Plus staff sometimes - wrongly - telling clients that volunteering can affect their benefits entitlement, the study says. It recommends that, as a matter of urgency, the Government sets up a working group to propose remedies for removing these barriers. Some solutions, the report says, will require legislation, while others will require the dissemination of good practice on appropriate risk management.

CFV chair Baroness Neuberger said: "Our vision is a society where volunteering is part of our DNA so that, by giving time, we enrich our own lives and those of others." But she said that too many people are being put off volunteering because "red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy get in the way".

The study also warns that third sector groups are failing to address the needs of minority groups when recruiting volunteers.

It says that some parts of the voluntary sector are not trying hard enough to break down the barriers that exist for groups such as the disabled, refugees and homeless people when they try to volunteer.

The Government should pilot an Access to Volunteering Fund to help under-represented groups - such as the disabled - get involved in volunteering, the report recommends.

It also calls for measures such as the introduction of volunteering champions in local areas to raise the profile of volunteering; more encouragement for employers to support volunteering by their employees; and more ways to reward volunteers.

Earlier this month, think-tank NFP Synergy published a briefing claiming that the substantial amount of public money spent to promote volunteering has failed to increase the number of volunteers (R&R, 18 January, p8).

A Cabinet Office spokesman said that the Government welcomed the report and would respond to its recommendations later this month.

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