Catholic complaints policy with escalation process
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Conference of Religious should publish a national policy for complaints about the way in which a safeguarding case is handled. The policy should deal with communication with complainants during the complaints process and set out an escalation process for all complainants to have their complaint assessed by an independent adjudicator, if they are unhappy with how their complaint has been handled.
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedOn 30 April 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry stated that a framework and template for complaints was ratified by the Bishops. The framework and template include the need for clear communication between the complainant and those handling the complaint, and an escalation of the process if the outcome is unsatisfactory. In November 2021, the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency website was launched and set out the National Safeguarding Standards, the National Safeguarding Policy, and practice guidance documents.