THE Church of England’s redress scheme for survivors of abuse will have the ability to make awards starting from £5000 to £660,000, it was announced on Thursday evening.
The proposed financial framework for the National Redress Scheme outlines a four-stage process by which the extent of award might be decided. At stage one, a sum between £5000 and £150,000 might be awarded, depending on the category of the abuse.
How several types of abuse might be classified has not been released, however the scheme is known to cover physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional, psychological, and spiritual abuse, neglect, and financial abuse — as an illustration, when someone is pressured to alter a will.
At stage two within the calculation, the quantity awarded in stage one might be multiplied by as much as an element of two, depending on whether there are “aggravating aspects” within the case. Such aspects might include how prolonged the abuse was, or whether reports of it were dismissed.
An additional award of as much as £250,000 might be considered at stage three, when the impact of the abuse might be taken under consideration, and, in exceptional circumstances, a 20-p-cent increase on the cumulative sum of the awards given at stages one to a few might be considered.
The scheme will not be limited to purely financial types of redress: in a presentation to the General Synod last summer, it was revealed that apologies, therapy, and support for victims and survivors can be a part of the offer.
The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, who chairs the Redress Project Board, said this week: “No sum of money can ever undo the past. Our hope, none the less, is that this may very well be a major step each towards the acknowledgment of wrongdoing, and, nevertheless incompletely, towards helping rebuild lives.”
In February this 12 months, it emerged that Ecclesiastical Insurance — one among the predominant insurers for the Church of England — wouldn’t be participating within the scheme (News, 16 February).
In previous General Synod debates, concerns had been raised about parishes’ being required to pay substantial sums of cash in redress payments. Such concerns are prone to be calmed by the statement in essentially the most recent press release, that any such payments might be “voluntary”, and that, while parishes, cathedrals, or other relevant bodies may be invited to contribute, it will not be mandated.
The proposed framework is subject to approval by the Synod. It will not be yet confirmed whether the laws to bring the Redress Scheme into reality will receive a second hearing on the July group of sessions.
A Survivor Working Group has been working with the Redress Project Board, offering feedback on proposals, and two members of the group sit as full members of the board.
This week, one member, who can be a part of the survivors’ group, said: “Survivors have worked extremely hard over a protracted time frame to attempt to make sure that the Redress Scheme might be as generous as possible whilst still with the ability to help as many candidates as it may well. We are pleased that the Scheme is now one other step closer to becoming a reality.”
The Scheme is as a result of run for five years, and might be administered by the law firm Kennedy’s. Towards the tip of this era, a review might be undertaken to think about what further redress may be offered
