A SYSTEM that registers those who work with children might not be stopping “unsuitable people” having access to them, according to a parliamentary report.
Holyrood’s Sport Committee said urgent action was needed to strengthen the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) system, which “may not be preventing unsuitable people from doing regulated work”.
A Scottish Government review of the system is expected to take 12 months, with new legislation potentially in place by 2019. However, MSPs said action was required now and there was a “compelling” case for it to be made mandatory for all sports groups in Scotland.
The committee’s inquiry into child protection in sport was launched after allegations of historical child sexual abuse in football. Its report raises concerns about a backlog of PVG checks waiting to be carried out on coaches and officials working with young players.
The Scottish Football Association (SFA) had been “asleep on the job” while the Scottish Youth Football Association (SYFA) provided “misleading” evidence, it said.
Committee convener Neil Findlay said: “Our evidence highlighted variations in how the PVG scheme operates in sports across Scotland. Ultimately, we believe the current system of PVG checks may not be preventing unsuitable people from doing regulated work with children.
“We’re talking about the safety of children – urgent action is needed now to strengthen the scheme as 2019 is too long to wait for new legislation.
“In relation to football, we have raised serious concerns about the ability of the SYFA to ensure PVG checks are carried out efficiently. We cannot even now be confident that the SYFA is being truthful in relation to the size of their backlog and consequently that... they are committed to undertaking the appropriate PVG checking expeditiously. We consider the SFA to have been asleep on the job and complacent in this area.
“Based on the information provided, we are left with concerns about the current protections being afforded to youth footballers in Scotland.”
The report noted that measures were being adopted to ensure that child protection policies were in place, but added: “A soft-touch approach may have been previously warranted, however it is clear from the evidence we have received this is no longer applicable. The SFA have, whatever they claim, responsibilities.
“The current approach is simply not working effectively to protect children and young people in football, and in our view the ultimate responsibility for this lies with the SFA as the governing body.”
MSPs called for a strengthening of the child protection minimum requirements governing bodies have to meet, recommending that future sportscotland grants “be conditional on adequate procedures not only being in place but being timeously adhered to”.
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