charity managers unaware of vetting and barring rules
A third of charity managers and trustees across the country are
unaware of the new vetting and barring scheme which was introduced
by the Government in October 2009. The scheme applies to anyone
working with children or vulnerable adults and many circumstances
require them to have a criminal record check.
A new study has been published by Ecclesiastical Insurance in an
attempt to gauge how charities are dealing with the new vetting and
barring rules. Failure to implement them correctly could lead to
litigation and significant costs for charities.
The study surveyed a representative sample of 142 charities. 32%
said that they were not aware of the new requirements; cultural
charities being the least aware reporting that 45% of managers and
trustees did not know about the new rules.
16% of charity managers and trustees said they felt that the
introduction of the rules would deter new volunteers, while 6% said
it could have an impact on their existing volunteers' willingness
to stay involved.
The National Association for Voluntary and Community Action
(NAVCA) has written to the third sector minister, Angela Smith,
setting out concern that the new vetting and barring system will
deter people from volunteering and will be expensive and
time-consuming for small voluntary and community groups. Follow the
link to view a copy of this letter via the NAVCA
website.
