PRESS RELEASE
Strictly embargoed until Wednesday 11 October 2006
Fear of litigation and red tape is deterring people from volunteering according to new research published today by Volunteering England.
The national volunteering development agency in England is calling for excessive risk management to be challenged as it is stopping potential volunteers coming forward. The research, On the Safe Side, revealed that over one million volunteers have considered stopping volunteering through fear of legal action.
Their experience is supported by Girlguiding UK, which has a shortfall of 8,000 volunteers. A boost in volunteer numbers would enable the 50,000 girls currently on the waiting list to join. Jennie Lamb, head of guiding development at Girlguiding UK, believes that a fear of legal action and an excess of rules and regulations may have contributed to the situation. She said:
“A large number of organisations and groups are affected when ‘over the top’ decisions are made, we see a need to challenge excessive risk management. For example when a local authority decides it’s not safe for children on school residentials to light fires. It isn't long before our volunteer leaders feel that this activity must be too risky and remove it from their programme. It takes a very confident volunteer to continue to offer something a local authority has banned or restricted in some way.”
On the Safe Side, which is published in conjunction with the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR), found that more than a quarter of organisations revealed that potential volunteers were deterred from volunteering, with some even calling off events and activities because the insurance premiums were too high. This echoes the findings of a recent survey by insurer Royal & Sun Alliance that one in three people would sue a charity if they were injured at a charity event or on its premises.
In response, Volunteering England and IVR are launching a Toolkit for volunteer-involving organisations at an expert panel debate on 13 October at the Thinktank in Birmingham, which will provide practical help for organisations of all sizes.
Justin Davis-Smith, deputy chief executive of Volunteering England, said:
“The ‘Compensation Culture’ – myth or otherwise - is in danger of taking a real hold in this country, with potentially disastrous effects on the provision of services, both by public and voluntary bodies. It threatens not only the health of the volunteer-involving sector but also Government targets for strengthening and expanding civic engagement. The limitations risk aversion places on innovation and the volunteering’s entrepreneurial role may have serious consequences for the future.
“While this climate has stimulated awareness and in some situations improved services and safety, it has also led to excessive risk aversion. I hope that the launch of the Risk Toolkit will enable volunteer-involving organisations to appreciate the benefits of sensible risk management and that it will better equip them to carry out the activities which enable them to be the lifeblood of their communities.”
Tony Bandle, head of strategic risk and intelligence at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), said: "The Health and Safety Executive welcomes the launch of the 'Risk Toolkit' for volunteer-involving organisations and sees it as a good fit to the sensible risk management campaign that it is leading. There are plenty of myths around 'elfandsafety' and what it will and will not let you do but the reality is that it provides a sensible framework that allows for real risks to be identified and controlled proportionately, while enabling those important activities that provide support and services to the wider community."
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Notes to Editors:
- Justin Davis-Smith, Jennie Lamb and Tony Bandle are all available for interview. For more information and to arrange interviews, call Cat Dean on 020 7520 8932; email cat.dean@volunteeringengland.org . During out of office hours, please call Sonya Roberts on: 07952 128057.
- The expert panel debate, Is excessive risk management destroying the culture of volunteering? will take place at on Friday 13 October at 10.15 am at the Birmingham Thinktank. For more details and to book a place, visit www.volunteering.org.uk/events or call 020 7520 8928.
- Copies of On the Safe Side, written by Katharine Gaskin, can be downloaded from www.volunteering.org.uk . The toolkit can be downloaded from the website from Friday 13 October.
- On the Safe Side and the Risk Toolkit are both funded by the Volunteering Hub. For more information visit: http://www.volunteering.org.uk/hub
Volunteering and risk findings
- On the safe side revealed that a third of organisations have found it increasingly difficult to recruit volunteers and trustees
- 7% of those surveyed had called off events and activities that were deemed to pose too much risk, often because the insurance premiums were beyond their means
- Three quarters had seen their insurance costs rise in recent years, a third by a substantial amount. The smallest organisations and those in sports, adventure and exercise, were the hardest hit.
- In answer to a poll on Volunteering England’s website: “Is excessive risk management destroying the culture of volunteering?” 86% said yes, 14% said no.
General volunteering statistics
- 22 million adults are involved in formal volunteering each year
- 90 million hours of formal voluntary work takes place each week
- Six out of ten volunteers say volunteering gives them an opportunity to learn new skills
- The total public sector support for volunteering is estimated to be in the region of £400 million
- The economic value of formal volunteering is estimated to be in the region of £40 billion per year
- For every £1 volunteer involving organisations spend supporting volunteering they can expect a notional payback of 14 times (Source: www.volunteering.org.uk)
Volunteering England’s aims are to increase the quality, quantity, contribution and accessibility of volunteering throughout England; secure and support an England-wide network of quality volunteer development agencies, promoting and enabling volunteering and community involvement; undertake research, policy and development activity; and provide grants, support and advice to sustain and develop volunteering. It understands the term volunteering to include formal activity undertaken through public, private and voluntary organisations as well as informal community participation.
