FINAL approval for the Church of England’s redress scheme for survivors of abuse will probably be voted on by the General Synod this weekend, after a delay to permit the steering group to contemplate the eligibility criteria “in light of the Makin report” (News, 17 January).
A report from the steering committee, published on 26 June, sets out a proposed amendment to the draft Abuse Redress Measure which would supply an entitlement to redress “based on a case where a Church officer had had a chance to take motion which may need prevented a perpetrator from carrying out the abuse to which the appliance relates but did not take that motion”.
An additional amendment, if carried, would allow the Archbishops’ Council to pause the scheme, or vary the strategy by which awards are determined, if it considers that not doing so puts in danger its continuation as a “going concern”.
Provision to this effect was already a part of the draft laws, but the brand new clause “requires the exercise of such an influence to be more transparent, and subject to greater scrutiny”, the steering committee’s report says.
Under the brand new wording, the Council can be required to submit its decision to scrutiny by the Synod “as soon as reasonably practicable”, and to offer “due regard” to the Synod’s judgement.
In its annual report, also published on 26 June, the Archbishops’ Council Audit and Risk Committee noted these concerns, and said that an audit of the redress scheme “identified the financial feasibility of the scheme as a high risk on account of the problem in estimating potential demand”.
In February last yr, it was confirmed that Ecclesiastical Insurance, one in every of the principal insurers for Church of England bodies, wouldn’t take part in the scheme, citing “legal and industrial reasons” (News, 16 February 2024).
