Charities concerned about proposed fees for portable CRB checks
Volunteers may have to pay for a new type of criminal record check in 2012
The government is considering introducing a new form of criminal record check (CRB) that volunteers may have to pay for.
The new 'Portable Scheme' will enable volunteers to work for more than one charity at a time without having to get multiple checks as their record will be continuously updated by the CRB register.
The existing one off check will remain as is and will continue to be free for volunteers.
The Portable Scheme is a response to calls from volunteers and community groups to reduce the level of red tape that prevents people from giving time. Currently volunteers have to undergo separate CRB checks for each charity that they want to help, even if they apply within the same time period. The resultant delays and level of form filling has been identified as a major obstacle to getting involved. The Portable Scheme will enable them to have just one check which can be used for every charity they apply to.
The Home Office, which is leading this development, has stated that whilst the existing one off check will remain free it is possible that a fee may be chargeable to volunteers for the new portable scheme - the decision to introduce a charge will be subject to the government’s calculations which will be completed in the summer of 2012.
Although the portable scheme is viewed as a welcome development by many volunteers and organisations, there are concerns that the government's proposals to introduce charges to be met by volunteers could end up as a bigger deterrent.
Reacting to the proposals Justin Davis Smith, Chief Executive of Volunteering England said “We are extremely concerned that Government is considering charging volunteers for portable CRB checks. We have long argued for Government to make the CRB process easier for volunteers as it can be a real barrier to people giving their time. We have pushed for CRB checks to be made portable, so that volunteers don’t have to be checked every time they start a new role, and the Government has agreed to that. However, Government would be solving one problem only to create another if they then made volunteers pay for portable checks.”
David Wood OBE, CEO of health and social care charity Attend said "We live in a market economy, and I am interested on how the market will react to this. Consumption is determined by the purchaser, and my sense is that if the choice is a portable check which has a fee, or a free check on an opportunity by opportunity basis, the vast majority will opt for the latter.”
Jamie Ward-Smith, founder of social network i-volunteer said "I think the portable CRB scheme is a great idea and could go a long way to making it easier to give time but I can't see many volunteers opting to use it if they have to pay a fee. There needs to be rethink about how this will be funded otherwise it's unlikely to have the desired impact."
What's your opinion? As a volunteer would you be willing to pay for the convenience of such a scheme? Leave a comment below and please vote in our poll which you'll find on the homepage!
The ability to have an initial CRB check followed by a portable system is a great move forward and strongly supported. However, the suggestion that the portable element could include a charge for volunteers simply demonstrates how 'the system' gives with one hand and immediately takes with the other. I would rather stay with the current system than support a supposedly improved system which charges volunteers for giving their time freely!
Portable CRB checks are long overdue, but volunteers should NEVER have to pay for a background check. The voluntary organisations shouldn't have to pay either. If the Government aren't prepared to put their hands in their pockets for something like this it makes a complete mockery of the 'Big Society'.
We as ARV .org dont think volunteers should be charged a lot for their CRB check because can get discouraged from volunteering altogether, If volunteers are going to be charged it should be a very minimal amount that they can afford .
ARV.
I think the idea of a portable check is very sensible but charging for it would be self-defeating. At best there would be little improvement as most people would still go for the free check and at worst it would put volunteers off. Why not just have the one portable type of check and dispense with the single checks? The idea is presumably to save time and money and encourage volunteering, a free portable check for all volunteers would mean fewer checks and therefore less cost to the government, less administration for everyone and possibly an increase in volunteers so everyone wins.
There is a question of validity though, if you get a single check done for one charity it tells them your criminal record is clear at that point in time. If a volunteer acquires a criminal record whilst volunteering with that charity it is quite likely that the charity would hear about it. However if a volunteer has a CRB done and it is valid for a couple of years there is less protection for a charity that takes them on towards the end of the validity of the check, as they would be less likely to know if an offence had been committed meanwhile. This would need to be made clear and the validity of the CRB might have to be shorter.
The other issue is that smaller charities are either foregoing having volunteers CRB'ed or are CRBing everyone whatever their role.
A Volunteer gives their time and their skills - and should never ever be out of pocket.
Put those those horrible poor people back in their place and only let rich people volunteer. What a splendid idea. Typical of our current political class. Whatever next? Why not make poor people pay for education and all the other nasty free socialist things introduced in the last century? Make them pay the CSA to chase up their child maintenance, or to take an employment case to tribunal when they get sacked. And please, no free legal aid. It goes on and on... (rant over).
The system of multiple checks is not perfect but making volunteers pay for their own check is not the answer. Plenty of volunteers will be put off altogether which would be a disaster.
The idea of a portable check is great, but charging for it is not.
Many of my volunteers are in receipt of means tested benefits so could not afford it. This leaves either the charity or the Home Office to pay. And as many of us get some funding from government, either central or local, it means that the tax payer pays either way.
If it was free initially then at least it would be as cheap as it could be.
Introduce “optional” portable check at a price; then gradually phase out normal checks, classic piece of misdirection.
I know many in think volunteer managers are a bit thick and/or wet behind the ears, but think again!
Lots of Twitter feedback too! overall people seem to like the idea of having portable checks but don't support volunteers having to pay for them... But some feel that as the portable check is optional - whilst normal checks remain free - and that it is for the convenience of volunteers, then they should be willing to pay.
Don't forget to vote in the poll on our home page too!