Volunteer Policy and Volunteer Procedure
Argyll and Bute Council · 5 December 2024
Back to Policy and Resources Committee — 5 December 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL POLICY & RESOURCES COMMITTEE CUSTOMER SUPPORT SERVICES 5 DECEMBER 2024 VOLUNTEER POLICY AND VOLUNTEER PROCEDURE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This report covers the introduction of a Council wide Volunteer Policy and Procedure, which the Council has not previously had. 1.2 This new policy aims to achieve Argyll and Bute Council’s “Connect for Success” objective of One Council One Approach to ensure that a standardised approach to engaging with Volunteers is adopted at each level of the organisation. 2.0 RECOMMENDATIONS The Policy & Resources Committee are asked to: 2.1 Agree the Volunteer Policy 2.2 Agree that PVG costs for PVGs will be covered by existing service budgets. 2.3 Agree to forward the Policy to Council for final approval. 3.0 DETAIL 3.1 Argyll and Bute Council have not previously had an agreed Volunteer policy and accompanying Procedure for use across the Council. Until now, there has been an ad hoc, departmental approach in the use of Volunteers; with various different ways in dealing with them. 3.2 As the use of volunteers is becoming more frequent, this new Council wide policy has been drafted to ensure that appropriate areas are covered. This covers all aspects of the paperwork required by a volunteer, as well as guidance on legal issues. 3.3 There are a number of appendices attached to the Volunteer Procedure document, which include a volunteer role profile, privacy notice and other relevant papers. 3.4 It should be noted that some Volunteers may require to join the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme if they want to volunteer with Children or Adults. There is a cost to this (currently £59) and a recent benchmarking
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exercise sought clarity on whether other Local Authorities pay for these for their volunteers. Of the 12 LAs who replied to the query; all confirmed that they paid the PVG cost for their Volunteers. On this basis, and to ensure that the Council is aligned with other public sector bodies, it is recommended that the Council meets the PVG cost for all Volunteers who require to be on the PVG scheme from the existing Service budgets. 3.5 If a volunteer already has a PVG from another organisation and wishes to volunteer with A&B Council – there will still be a cost implication, as the Council will need to update their existing scheme record, to ensure that we become an ‘interested’ party. 3.7 The Policy & Resources Committee are asked to approve the Volunteer policy and procedure attached. Once approved, the documents will be published on the Council’s Hub and My Council Works website. 4.0 CONCLUSION 4.1 In conclusion, this policy is required by all managers who make use of this valuable resource and will bring a One Council approach to engaging volunteers. 4.2 Once it is approved, it will be published on the Hub/My Council Works, and shared within the organisation to better promote opportunities for Volunteering. 5.0 IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Policy This is a brand new Council wide policy. 5.2 Financial PVG costs for Volunteers will be found from existing service budgets. 5.3 Legal Legal are content with the policy 5.4 HR The only HR implications will be assistance required on an ad hoc basis 5.5. Fairer Scotland Duty 5.5.1 Equalities – Protected Characteristics See attached EQSEIA (Appendix 3) 5.5.2 Socio-Economic Duty See attached EQSEIA (Appendix 3) 5.5.3 Islands None arising directly from this report 5.6 Climate Change None arising directly from this report 5.7 Risk None arising directly from this report 5.8 Customer Service one arising directly from this report 5.9 Rights of the Child (UNCRC) None arising directly from this report Kirsty Flanagan Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services
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Policy Lead: Councillor Mark Irvine 30 October 2024 For further information contact: Jane Fowler, Head of Customer Support Services, Jo McDill HROD Officer 01546 604032 APPENDICES Appendix 1 – Draft Volunteer Policy Appendix 2 – Draft Volunteer Procedure Appendix 3 - EQSEIA