Church funding policy for victim support
IICSA · The Anglican Church Investigation Report · Issued 6 October 2020 · Addressed to: Church of England
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, H
The Church of England and the Church in Wales should each introduce a Church-wide policy on the funding and provision of support to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse concerning clergy, Church officers or those with some connection to the Church. The policy should clearly set out the circumstances in which different types of support, including counselling, should be offered. It should make clear that support should always be offered as quickly as possible, taking into account the needs of the victim over time. The policy should take account of the views of victims and survivors. It should be mandatory for the policy to be implemented across all dioceses.
IICSA, The Anglican Church Investigation Report · 6 Oct 2020 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- In May 2023, the government noted that the Church of England and Church in Wales were progressing Church-wide support policies for victims and survivors (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
- No published Church-wide mandatory policy on funding and provision of support to victims and survivors across both Churches has been identified to March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●UK Government
On 7 April 2021, the Church in Wales stated that it had introduced Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) support for survivors. The Church in Wales committed to offer funding towards counselling recommended by an ISVA where the abuse was committed by Church in Wales clergy, or in a Church context. The Church in Wales also stated that the sufficiency of this provision will be reviewed regularly, in consultation with its Safeguarding Panel, Safeguarding Committee and the providers of the ISVA service. On 17 December 2021 the Archbishops' Council of the Church of England published an update stating that the National Safeguarding Steering Group has approved amended guidance on responding to victims and survivors of abuse. The guidance stipulates what Church bodies must do if abuse is disclosed, requires Church bodies to provide accessible information about reporting abuse to statutory services and makes provision for mandatory support. General updates on the Interim Support Scheme and National Redress Scheme were also provided.
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.