97 Response Accepted in Part AI-assessed

Clarify Compensation Act on apologies

Recommendation

The government should introduce legislation revising the Compensation Act 2006 to clarify that section 2 facilitates apologies or offers of treatment or other redress to victims and survivors of child sexual abuse by institutions that may be vicariously liable for the actions or omissions of other persons, including the perpetrators.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Ministry of Justice (March 2021), it would consult on the law of apologies, including their use in civil proceedings, and confirmed these plans in May 2022. According to the available evidence, the Crime and Policing Bill 2025, introduced in February 2025, is set to amend the Compensation Act 2006 to encourage organisations to apologise to those who have been wronged.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 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
Jurisdiction
England
Section Reference
I
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part UK Government
22 May 2023

On 16 March 2021, the Ministry of Justice stated that it would consult on the subject of apologies, including consideration of the use of apologies in civil proceedings generally. On 4 May 2022, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that it still planned on consulting on the law of apologies and that the government would then consider necessary substantive reform.

Read Full Response
Source
Inquiry IICSA
Report Accountability and Reparations Investigation Report 19 Sep 2019
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Recommendation age 6.5 yrs
Last formal update 1037 days ago