Peer calls for end to risk 'obsession'

The prime minister's adviser on volunteering has backed calls to scrap "unnecessary" criminal record checks.

Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Neuberger's Commission on the Future of Volunteering recommended on Monday that the checks be scrapped as part of its 'manifesto for change'.

She said it was time to reconsider an "obsession" with risk in order to boost the £48bn voluntary sector.

"Our vision is a society where volunteering is part of our DNA so that by giving time, we enrich our own lives and those of others," she argued.

"But at the moment, too many people are being put off volunteering. Many people come forward to offer their time and skills, but red tape and unnecessary bureaucracy get in the way.

"It is time to rethink the obsession with any risks that might be involved and to remove financial obstacles which many people experience when they try to volunteer.

"We also need to avoid time-consuming criminal record checks, unless volunteers are working with children or vulnerable adults."