37 Response Accepted Self-assessed

Westminster whistleblowing policies for CSA

Recommendation

Government, political parties and other Westminster institutions must have whistleblowing policies and procedures which cover child sexual abuse and exploitation. Every employee must be aware that they can raise any concerns using these policies and that the policies are not limited to concerns specific to a person's employment.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
The UK government confirmed on 18 September 2020 that all government departments have whistleblowing policies and procedures in place that cover child sexual abuse and exploitation, with Civil Service HR providing a model policy to support departments. Regarding Parliament, the UK government stated that internal policies are a matter for each House, but it is clear that employees can raise concerns using these policies. The government's progress tracker, updated in May 2023, indicates this recommendation as completed.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Section Reference
E
Response
Accepted
Accepted UK Government
22 May 2023

On 18 September 2020, the UK government confirmed that all government departments have whistleblowing policies in place. It confirmed that Civil Service HR has a model policy to support departments in ensuring their policies are effective. With regards to Parliament, the UK government stated that internal policies and procedures are a matter for both Houses and that the UK government respects the exclusive cognisance of each House to conduct its own internal affairs. It stated that it is clear that all institutions should have appropriate policies and procedures in place to ensure that they fulfil their responsibilities to safeguard children. In July 2020, the Co-operative Party stated that it had whistleblowing policies and procedures in its staff handbook. Between June 2020 and March 2021, the Green Party, the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats, the Conservative Party, Plaid Cymru, the Ulster Unionist Party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party, the Democratic Unionist Party and the Scottish National Party stated that they had updated policies and/or staff handbooks.

Read Full Response
Source
Inquiry IICSA
Report Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse Linked to Westminster Investigation Report 25 Feb 2020
View Source
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Themes & Tags
Whistleblower channel absence Care safeguarding systems No mandatory child abuse reporting Whistleblowing Political Parties Westminster
Recommendation age 6.1 yrs
Last formal update 1037 days ago