Amend Canon C30 on safeguarding due regard
IICSA · The Anglican Church Case Studies Investigation Report · Issued 21 May 2019 · Addressed to: Church of England
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, E
The Church of England should amend the current canon requiring clerics to comply with the Bishop's Guidance on Safeguarding. The use of the words 'due regard' in Canon C30 is an acceptable term of art, but lacks sufficient clarity. Very few individuals who gave evidence to the Inquiry said they understood what this meant, including the Archbishop of Canterbury himself.
IICSA, The Anglican Church Case Studies Investigation Report · 21 May 2019 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In May 2023, the government confirmed that the General Synod had approved the Measure amending Canon C30 (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
On 26 April 2021, the General Synod approved the Safeguarding (Code of Practice) Measure which strengthens and clarifies the obligation to follow safeguarding guidance. The statutory code replaces the existing duty to have 'due regard' to safeguarding guidance. On 20 October 2021, the Measure came into force.
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.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.