Reform Church of England clergy discipline for safeguarding
IICSA · The Anglican Church Investigation Report · Issued 6 October 2020 · Addressed to: Church of England
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, C
The Church of England should make changes and improvements to the way in which it responds to safeguarding complaints (whether related to allegations of abuse, or a failure to comply with or respond to the Church's safeguarding policies and procedures) to: disapply the 12-month time-limit for all complaints with a safeguarding element brought under the Clergy Discipline Measure; reintroduce the power to depose from holy orders where a member of the clergy is found guilty of child sexual abuse offences; introduce a mandatory 'code of practice' to improve the way that safeguarding issues are handled across the Clergy Discipline Measure and capability procedures, including a framework for responding to issues that do not amount to misconduct; make clear that penalty by consent must never be used in relation to such complaints; ensure confidentiality agreements are not put in place in relation to such complaints; and ensure that those handling such complaints are adequately and regularly trained.
IICSA, The Anglican Church Investigation Report · 6 Oct 2020 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In July 2024, the General Synod voted in support of next steps on safeguarding independence (Church of England, General Synod, July 2024).
- No published independent safeguarding complaints mechanism fully operational within the Church of England has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
On 29 March 2021, a joint response from the National Safeguarding Steering Group, the House of Bishops and the Archbishops' Council endorsed the proposals of the Clergy Discipline Measure working group to replace Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 with a new set of provisions. Those provisions would include a disciplinary process and be accompanied by a mandatory code of practice (or similar), which would emphasise the standard of conduct which is required of clergy. The proposed Clergy Discipline Measure reform would disapply the 12-month time-limit for all safeguarding-related complaints. The Church of England also stated that legislation to reintroduce the power to depose from holy orders would be brought forward as soon as practicable. The joint response also supported a replacement provision which enables respondents to acknowledge their misconduct early in the process, reducing the need for victims and survivors to be subject to the delay and trauma of a tribunal process. The joint response stated that the National Church Institutions' Legal Office had taken steps to introduce new training for those who handle complaints in dioceses in connection with the special measures that may be required. The Church of England informed the Inquiry that it intended to present proposals for the reform of clergy discipline to the General Synod.
UK Government · 22 May 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
No published activity has been recorded against this recommendation yet.
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
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Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
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