Lord Hodgson, chair of the Civil Society Red Tape Task Force, has said that government is making good progress on cutting red tape for the charity sector, but more must be done on volunteer liability and commissioning.

The Civil Society Red Tape Task Force was set up by government last year to look into bureaucratic burdens inhibiting the development of the voluntary sector. It made 14 recommendations in Hodgson's report Unshackling Good Neighbours, including the creation of a working party to address the insurance needs of the voluntary sector and displays in all Jobcentres to encourage volunteering and emphasise that it does not affect welfare benefits.

Hodgson was invited to return and review the progress after a year. The Cabinet Office published its Unshackling Good Neighbours - One Year On progress report for the Task Force to consider in May 2012.

The Task Force found that good or excellent progress has been made in over half of its recommendations, particularly praising the establishment of a sector/insurance industry working party and the progress Jobcentre Plus has made in ensuring that its staff understand the rules about voluntary work and benefits.

Lord Hodgson told civilsociety.co.uk that there had been lots of good stuff from government since its recommendations including the saving of cheques and the launch of CIOs. But he said more had to be done on volunteer liability and commissioning:

“More remains to be done, particularly in changing perceptions that persist about potential risk for volunteers, unevenness of enforcement by local government and unlocking the barriers to social investment as a genuine means of supporting civil society organisations.”