Question reference: S6W-26509
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Date lodged: 27 March 2024
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Current status: Answered by Natalie Don on 23 April 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the potential impact on youth groups of the proposal by Disclosure Scotland to introduce Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) fees for voluntary roles.
Answer
I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:
Disclosure Scotland, an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government, is consulting on how disclosure fees could be discounted for certain groups in future. No decisions have been made on this. The consultation response from stakeholders and the public will help to shape decisions by Scottish Ministers.
Disclosure Scotland has published a draft children’s rights and wellbeing impact assessment which considers the possible impact of the proposals made in the consultation on fee waivers and discounting on the rights of children. In doing so they are considering official statistics and surveys, evidence from Disclosure Scotland’s systems, past consultations and stakeholder engagement.
When the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 is implemented Level 2 with PVG scheme membership disclosures will not be available to children aged under 16 years old. Any fees and fee discounting therefore only has a direct impact on children aged 16 and 17 years old.
A copy of the impact assessment can be found on the Scottish Government’s website at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/disclosure-scotland-act-2020-accredited-body-fees-proposals-discounting-under-pvg-scheme-consultation-childrens-rights-wellbeing-impact-assessment/