Should volunteering replace statutory duty?

With volunteer week in Scotland now at an end for this year, it is fitting to say thank you to those who have made a fantastic contribution in our communities. People volunteer in many various ways, whether it be in charity shops, sports coaching or befriending vulnerable adults, and, the valuable difference that they make to individual lives and society in general is incalculable. During the Covid19 pandemic, we have seen people preparing and delivering food to the most vulnerable in our communities, as well as to those shielding. We have seen people calling, those at home, just for a chat, easing their boredom and loneliness. These volunteers are saving lives and supporting mental wellbeing, and we should be eternally grateful.

However, asking volunteers to deliver public services is a dangerous route to embark on. Take littering for example. Local authorities have a statutory duty to keep roads, walkways, open spaces Renfrewshire Council’s ‘Team Up to Clean Up’ is supposed to instil a bit of civic pride in our communities, and there is nothing wrong with that. It is not meant to replace the duty on Renfrewshire Council.

etc., free from litter under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and to expect volunteers to carry out that function is reckless, bordering on a failure to act. Some community groups don’t have the public liability insurance that is imperative for protection for the volunteer and general public, and therefore putting themselves at risk.

Now, we all know the reason for this. Local authorities have been chronically underfunded for years, by the Scottish Government, that has resulted in massive cuts to services and jobs. How can a council carry out a statutory function, when its capacity to do so, has been so severely reduced.

But, the reliance on volunteers is not sustainable, for obvious reasons, although it could lead to further redundancies as a way of saving much needed cash.

Litter is a big problem, as is fly tipping, and there is nothing wrong in supplementing the council’s function of tidying up in your local area. Education, though, is incredibly important, and the council does a lot of good work in our schools, that seems to get lost as we get into secondary education. We all know that the primary educators of our children are parents themselves and it seem reasonable to expect adults to act in a more mature and responsible way. Sadly, that is not the case. Perhaps education catered for adults and parents should be the priority rather than a minor thought.

With the recent relaxing of the lockdown, amidst the prolonged period of good weather, we have seen people flock to parks, open spaces and beaches, and we have seen a minority of individuals at their worse. Litter strewn everywhere, bottles and cans lying around and volunteers, in many areas, left to deal with the fallout. This shouldn’t be happening.

Public services are vital to all of us, and for those of us who believe in, and pay for, them can see their decline in recent years. The lack of funding from the Scottish  Government to local authorities is getting worse as turbo charged austerity exacerbated by this pandemic, has meant that local councils are really struggling with those at Holyrood still sitting on £155m earmarked by the Westminster Government to ease some of the burden. Although that will not be nearly enough. The Scottish Government is failing local authorities, that much is clear, and the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, which was meant to get communities to do more for themselves and to give a greater say in how money is spent locally, was never meant to replace a statutory  provision.

The Labour Party supports and applauds our many volunteers, but the wider community deserves better public services, properly resourced, and delivered by local and national governments that value local democracy and accountability that delivers for us all. Only by the progressive deeds of labour can these values be acted on.