| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mr. Ian Taylor: It would not be right for anyone to argue that that was the only obstacle. There are, of course, other lifestyle reasons why people do not volunteer, but that reason is cited time after time by the
organisations as one of the key deterrents for volunteers. Given the importance of volunteering, we should have some influence in alleviating the deterrent.
Roger Casale: I am aware, having listened to the hon. Gentleman's speech, that he has spoken to organisations in his constituency, and I do not question what he says for a moment. The hon. Member for Canterbury also referred to a number of national reports that have been produced. I can only say that none of the voluntary organisations in my constituency identified that as their No. 1 problem.
Looking at the detail of the Bill, I experienced a second instinctive inhibition. We are all concerned about the growth of the compensation culture and the extraordinary legal claims that are upheld in courts in America and elsewhere, which can be ruinous to those involved and which many of us may consider very unjust. We are right to be concerned about that, and about the way in which it may impinge on the voluntary sector—not least on such worthwhile activities as the creation of safe play areas, mentioned by my right hon. Friend the Member for Holborn and St. Pancras (Mr. Dobson).
This was my instinctive inhibition. Members in all parts of the House are also concerned about the nanny state and over-regulation, and about well-intentioned Government interventions to protect certain organisations and individuals from the big bad world—in this case, the big bad world of avaricious lawyers and excessive compensation claims. The Bill seems to be trying to interpose a cushion between volunteers and voluntary organisations and the provisions of the Financial Services Act 1986 and the Data Protection Act 1998—and, indeed, many civil law provisions. For all our well-placed wish to support the voluntary sector, we should think about whether we really want to abandon our equally well-placed reservations about such Government intervention. We do not want to mollycoddle the voluntary sector, or to give the impression that volunteers should be treated differently because they are less professional or less risk-aware.
I am particularly anxious about any attempt to weaken the Data Protection Act. We all know from our casework and our constituencies of instances in which even statutory bodies such as local councils, for reasons known only to themselves, release private information, and claim when challenged by the Information Commissioner, or indeed when he finds against them, that their actions were somehow in the public interest. Such actions are usually in the interests of the organisation itself, or of elements within it. We should be wary about setting any precedent that would suggest that, although privacy and the Data Protection Act are important, the disapplication of provisions in the Act might constitute a form of defence.
I support volunteering and see the need to promote it, and I hope I understand the problems involved; but, as I have said, I have reservations. As often happens, I was helped by a constituent, Andrew Craig, who wrote to me before the Bill was published. His letter, and the speeches that I have heard today, have shown me that the risk of excessive insurance claims is indeed an acute problem for certain parts of the voluntary sector.
Mr. Craig is a member of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, and is a hang glider himself. He reports that the association, which is the governing body for the sport, recently offered third-party insurance of up to £2 million to all its members, but following a series of claims has cut the amount to £25,000 for professionals—instructors and tandem pilots who carry passengers. Volunteers also work as trainers, although of course they must have the necessary qualifications. In the event of a serious injury or a fatality, they might lose their assets—their homes, perhaps.
Mr. Brazier: I am sorry that I missed the beginning of the hon. Gentleman's speech. He is making a powerful point, but may I ask him to put it on record that the insurance problem is not just a problem in itself but an effect of the growth of successful litigation, much of which never reaches the courts? It is a direct result of the application of a litigious culture to volunteers.
Roger Casale: That may well be so. I have no particular expertise in the area. That is the argument of my constituent Andrew Craig and the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, but I would not wish to put it on the record on their behalf. I have no first-hand experience of hang gliding either, although I must say that I sometimes feel tempted.
The problem may or may not result from increasing litigation, but the Bill seeks to deal not with the cause of the growth in the compensation culture, but with the consequences. I ask again whether that is what we should be doing, and indeed whether this is the most serious problem faced by volunteers and voluntary organisations. The hon. Gentleman said a lot about rugby clubs and rugby union. I played rugby at school and enjoy watching the six nations, although I remember being terrified of having to go on to the pitch, and I would not shed too many tears over rugby. We should support it on behalf of society and communities, especially in the light of the fantastic result in the World cup. Sport is a tremendous power for good, not just in terms of the health of individuals but for many other reasons.
The hon. Gentleman may know of AFC Wimbledon, almost a voluntary organisation although it is now incorporated. It was established by fans of the former Wimbledon football club. It is tremendously active in promoting not just sport but community activities of all kinds, and we should support it.
We want to encourage sport. According to the House of Commons Library, sport engages more volunteers than any other part of the voluntary sector. The Bill seeks to deal with a problem that affects volunteers most acutely.
The voluntary sector is vast and diverse in terms of the activities it undertakes and the risks involved. The hon. Member for Canterbury, other hon. Members or the Minister might wish to explore the fact that it is not only volunteers who sometimes put those whom they are seeking to help at risk, but that in many parts of the voluntary sector it is the volunteers themselves who face risk. I have in mind volunteers in care homes or involved in the mental health sector. Risk must be seen from both viewpoints: it is not only a matter of the risk to which a
volunteer might expose a person engaging in the activity, but the barriers arising from the risks to volunteers themselves. We must consider how to mitigate the risk and to lessen the impact on the voluntary sector of excessive insurance claims in the round, not in the narrow terms of the Bill.Speakers in the debate so far have said that risk is the No.1 problem that voluntary organisations face. It is true that there has been a decline in the number of volunteers—ironically, at the very time when we are attempting to upgrade the role of the voluntary sector. My constituency experience is that it is getting harder to recruit volunteers. When I first became an MP, in partnership with many individuals and organisations in my constituency, I set up the Wimbledon civic forum to promote civic engagement. That body appears to be flagging, even though people thought it was a good thing when they first became involved. The question is, how are we to sustain such projects and get new blood involved?
The Wimbledon Guild, which is one of the oldest social care charities in the country, is finding it difficult to recruit volunteers, especially among the over-60s, who traditionally form one of the largest groups of volunteers. Increasingly, when people reach the age of 60 or 65, they feel that the time has come to retire from volunteering, not to continue. How to promote volunteering and to recruit more volunteers is an issue, but the impression I have gained from speaking to constituency organisations, including the Wimbledon Guild and the Girl Guides, is that it is not the paramount issue.
Mr. Brazier: Will the hon. Gentleman make it clear that the Girl Guides are 200 per cent. behind the Bill? The organisation was represented at the very first press conference I held in relation to the Bill—as I recall, there were three representatives—and the national body has written many letters to me and to other supporters of the Bill.
Roger Casale: I am aware that the Girl Guides support the Bill. The hon. Gentleman will be pleased to learn that, while not a Girl Guide myself, I am an ambassador for the organisation and I am in close contact with the group in my constituency.
My aim is not to contradict the hon. Gentleman, but to put the Bill in the context of the range of issues and problems affecting volunteering. The reaction of the Wimbledon Guild to the proposal was that, of course, nothing should detract from the safety of either the volunteers, or the people whom the volunteers are helping. Although it is right to be concerned about the growth of the compensation culture, risk and the difficulties of getting insurance in certain fields, we should not send the message to volunteers that they should have a go and not worry if someone gets hurt, because they will be protected from the type of compensation claims to which non-volunteers might be subjected. We must balance not deterring volunteers and voluntary activities with reinforcing the understandable and necessary priority that many voluntary organisations give to ensuring the safety of those whom they seek to help. In relation to data protection issues, it is less the need to comply with the legal provisions and to perform criminal records checks
as it is length of time it often takes to get a response and complete the checks that concerns voluntary organisations in my constituency.I mentioned drawing a distinction between qualified and unqualified volunteers. Russell Humphreys, director of the Wimbledon Guild, pointed out that someone who has not had a first aid course but who seeks to administer first aid none the less is acting recklessly, whereas someone who knows what he is doing because he has attended a course and attained the necessary qualifications and who administers first aid when something goes wrong is not. I am not sure to what extent the Bill recognises the distinction: it seems to suggest that all volunteers are unqualified amateurs. That is not the case. The best way to protect volunteers from excessive compensation claims is to minimise the risk of claims arising by minimising the risk of incidents occurring, and the way to do that is to emphasise skills and qualifications among volunteers, as many voluntary organisations, and all the better ones, do.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |