# Voluntary organisations lack confidence in Criminal Records Bureau

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2003/01/15/voluntary-organisations-lack-confidence-criminal-records-bureau/
- Published: 2003-01-15T00:00:00+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

According to a report from the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO),
the difficulties and cost of accessing criminal records checks experienced by voluntary
organisations has left them with little confidence in the troubled Criminal Records
Bureau (CRB).
NCVO’s survey of voluntary organisations, found that five out of ten
respondents rated the new criminal records checks system as ‘very poor’. The most
common complaints were costs

of volunteer checks of up to £15 and delays and mistakes by the CRB, the new agency
responsible for issuing criminal record checks.

The current charges are the result of the CRB’s failure to cover registered umbrella
bodies’ administration costs. Organisations have to go through one of these registered
bodies or register themselves in order to access the

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checks. Published this week, NCVO’s CRB consultation report recommends that the 
Government provide proper funding for a network of these registered umbrella bodies.
The report suggests that more Local Authorities could act as umbrellas themselves
for charities and community groups operating in

their area.

“Voluntary organisations have an extreme lack of confidence in the CRB,” said Campbell
Robb, Director of Public Policy at NCVO. “Despite the Government’s promises, in 
reality volunteers’ checks are not free and many organisations cannot even locate
an affordable registered umbrella body in their area. These difficulties may be 
deterring potential volunteers from engaging in voluntary work altogether. The Government
cannot afford to ignore this new evidence of the CRB’s problems.”

The survey was conducted online and there were 110

respondents: 33 were national organisations, 58 local. NCVO’s online consultation
on the Criminal Records Bureau ran from 9 July 2002 to 31 December 2002.

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