Stevenson Seeks Boost For Voluntary Sector

Banff & Buchan SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson has called for the ‘compensation culture’ to be addressed before it severely inhibits the activities of local voluntary groups.

Mr Stevenson commented:

“It concerns me that it is very often the case nowadays that valuable community effort is being under-utilised because of the fear of legal claims against voluntary groups. Indeed, the so-called ‘compensation culture’ which afflicts society these days is one of the reasons why so few events are able to go ahead without public liability insurance being in place.

“The increasing cost of obtaining public liability insurance is one of the great deterrents to local community groups to stage events and it is high time that some common sense was injected back into this area.

“There are currently moves at Westminster to put a duty on event organisers to issue a ‘Statement of Inherent Risk’ to participants, and by signing up, participants accept the – usually minimal - risks involved.

“We simply cannot afford to lose so much of our voluntary activity because it is dismissed as risky in terms of the possibility of being sued.”

Mr Stevenson has written to the Scottish Executive seeking their support for voluntary activities and asking them to look at the legislation currently being considered by Westminster.

In her reply to Mr Stevenson, Communities Minister Margaret Curran states:

“I do clearly recognise the issues you raise in respect of barriers to voluntary activity in Scotland. I am committed to supporting all of those who make a valuable contribution to the people and communities of Scotland through their work in the voluntary sector and volunteering. As such, the Scottish Executive will continue to work with the voluntary sector to enable us to respond effectively to barriers to volunteering, both now and in the future.”