Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services (VSDS) continues to provide free support for qualifying Third Sector groups and organisations, so they can access free Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) checks for their volunteers who need them.

Both online PVG applications and paper applications are being accepted.

If your group or organisation is new to submitting online PVG applications, or are considering it for the first time, Volunteer Scotland has made a “Online PVG Application Service Guidance Pack” available to download from their website.

Volunteer Scotland note some benefits to using the online application service, as opposed to submitting paper applications:

cutting down on admin time for both the group or organisation, and the applicant
a quicker turnaround, meaning users will receive their certificate sooner

Volunteer Scotland currently host VSDS Virtual Drop-in sessions twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30am – 12:30pm. During the sessions participants can ask one of Volunteer Scotland’s Training and Compliance Officers questions about the process. Please note the session is for general questions only and no specific applications, or any sensitive or confidential information, can be discussed.

For more information, and to access the Guidance Pack or the Drop-in sessions, please visit the Volunteer Scotland website.