Contribution by: Fiona Liddell

Comment by: Fiona Liddell

Focus area: Volunteer events

Regulator concerned: My comments are general and do not relate to a particular regulator or regulatory function

Comment:
The matter was discuss at the Wales Volunteering Policy Network, at which nine volunteer involving organisations were represented. This response is a summary of main points raised, and is submitted by Wales Council for Voluntary Action on the group’s behalf
The point was made strongly that volunteers appear to be ‘terrified’ of falling foul of regulations. They are afraid to venture.
Whilst larger organisation are usually well versed in regulatory requirements and generally supply good advice and information to their supporters, for example on their websites, smaller community based organisations do not have easy access to the information they need . County Voluntary Councils have an important educational role in this regard, but not all organisations are aware of the help that they can offer
It was noted that different regulatory bodies ( eg Local Authority) often take a different line in interpreting regulation and this creates some confusion.
Experience of particular difficulty was cited in relation to the voluntary involvement of medical professionals within a charitable organisation, where conflict arises between professional obligations, as defined by the respective professional regulatory bodies, and the operational regulations of the charity in whose name they are working. A separate consultation response may be submitted to elaborate on this point.