Mandatory Catholic safeguarding training
IICSA · The Roman Catholic Church Investigation Report · Issued 10 November 2020 · Addressed to: Catholic Bishops Conference
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, E
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales should ensure that safeguarding training is mandatory for all staff and volunteers in roles where they work with children or victims and survivors of abuse. It should also be a requirement that regular refresher training is completed. The training should consider the impact of child sexual abuse, including the impact of trauma and the perspective of victims and survivors, and should be developed in conjunction with the Survivor Advisory Panel.
IICSA, The Roman Catholic Church Investigation Report · 10 Nov 2020 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In May 2023, the government confirmed that mandatory safeguarding training had been implemented across the Catholic Church in England and Wales (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
On 30 April 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry stated that it had mandated that clergy and parish safeguarding representatives must undergo baseline safeguarding training, supplemented by biennial refresher training. The reach of mandatory training was extended to volunteers.
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.
How this page is built
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.