Recommendation FR-19: Tiered Redress Scheme
From The Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published 20 October 2022.
Recommendation
The Inquiry recommends that the UK government establishes a single redress scheme in England and Wales, taking into account devolved responsibilities.
The detailed rules of, and funding for, this redress scheme should reflect the following core elements.
Eligibility
Victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation that occurred in England and in Wales should be eligible to apply.
Applicants must have experienced child sexual abuse and exploitation where there is a clear connection to State or non-State institutions in England and Wales.
The scheme should be open to any victim of child sexual abuse that took place prior to its establishment.
The scheme should deduct any previous award from any payment under the scheme (or in the case of payments made by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, it may order that they be repaid).
Applicants who have previously brought civil claims which have been rejected by the court should be excluded from applying to the scheme, save where their cases have been rejected due to limitation.
Redress provided
The scheme should provide payments to eligible applicants through a two-tier system, based on a fixed flat-rate recognition payment, with the option to apply for a second-tier payment.
Process
The application process must be accessible and straightforward, and be sensitive to the needs and vulnerabilities of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. The process should provide for streamlined checks and verification of applications, but not be adversarial.
There should be special provisions to accelerate awards for older or terminally ill applicants.
Duration
The scheme should run for five years.
Funding
The scheme should be funded by central and local government, in accordance with devolved funding principles, with voluntary contributions sought from non-State institutions.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended establishing a single redress scheme in England and Wales. In January 2026, Alex Davies-Jones, Minister, answering for the Ministry of Justice, stated that HM Government is "not currently taking forward any further steps" on the proposed national financial redress scheme (Alex Davies-Jones, Jan 2026). It had explained in April 2025 that establishing the scheme's scope posed major challenges in the fiscal environment, prioritising investment in therapeutic support and care (Home Office, Apr 2025). In May 2023, it had accepted the need to introduce a redress scheme acknowledging institutional failures, planning engagement to determine the details (Home Office response, May 2023).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 12 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
We accept the need to introduce a redress scheme to acknowledge the institutional failures that led to the suffering of victims and survivors. The detail of the scheme, including eligibility, types of redress available, the extent of any financial component, and application process, will be considered following extensive engagement, including with victims and survivors, third sector organisations, local authorities, insurers and lawyers.
Delivery
Ministry of Justice says not accepted (21 January 2026)
The Government recognises the importance of victims and survivors being able to seek redress from institutions for sexual abuse suffered during childhood and that redress can take several forms. The Government is not currently taking forward any further steps on the IICSA proposal for a separate, national financial redress scheme for all victims and survivors of child sexual abuse with a connection to state or non-state institutions.
UK Government says not accepted (9 April 2025)
The Government is not currently taking forward any further steps on the IICSA proposal for a separate, national financial redress scheme for all victims and survivors of child sexual abuse with a connection to state or non state institutions. We have considered the huge challenges in establishing the scope of such a redress scheme given the varied and widespread nature of child sexual abuse in different settings. We also recognise that in the current fiscal environment, this recommendation is very difficult to take forward, and we believe that the first priority for investment should be to provide greater support and care - including therapeutic support - for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.
From: Tackling child sexual abuse: progress update (accessible version)
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- UK Government
Response, delivery statement - Ministry of Justice
Delivery statement