An Oxfordshire volunteers’ group is calling for a new online system for background criminal checks to be free.

Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action (OCVA) says the new Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) system should be free, to ease the burden on the voluntary sector.

Changes are due to come into place in 2013, which will mean checks can be made online. The new system will also mean volunteers will not have to take a different background check for every volunteer role they take up.

But OCVA wants to ensure that there are no administration fees for the new system. It currently costs up to £10 in administration charges to carry out a CRB check.

Lindsay Watts, right, manager of OCVA’s volunteer centre, said: “OCVA has a membership of over 500 voluntary and community organisations across the county, of which around half have an annual income of less than £5,000.

“Additional costs like these will take away from the fantastic work the sector does in caring for the most marginalised in society and providing vital services for our communities.

“We’re adding our support to Volunteering England’s campaign for entirely free checks for volunteers.”

OCVA has written to local MPs, and its concerns have been referred onwards to Home Office ministers and the minister for civil society.