Public Inquiry Recommendations

29 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Church of England religious communities safeguarding

The Church of England should introduce appropriate guidance which deals with safeguarding within the context of a religious community affiliated to the Church. It must ensure that these organisations meet …

- In June 2019, the National Safeguarding Steering Group stated that the General Synod would be asked to give final approval to amending Canon 40 …

30 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Amend Canon C30 on safeguarding due regard

The Church of England should amend the current canon requiring clerics to comply with the Bishop's Guidance on Safeguarding. The use of the words 'due regard' in Canon C30 is …

- On 26 April 2021, the General Synod approved the Safeguarding (Code of Practice) Measure, which strengthens and clarifies the obligation on clergy to follow …

31 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

DBS and training compliance for Church officers

Individuals engaged in regulated activity who have failed to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check or complete compulsory training should not be permitted to hold voluntary offices within the …

- In June 2019, the Church of England agreed that those in regulated roles who have failed to undergo a DBS check or complete compulsory …

32 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Send internal safeguarding reviews to national body

If religious organisations have undertaken internal reviews or enquiries into individual safeguarding incidents, their findings should be sent to the national review body (set up under the Children and Social …

- In June 2019, the Church of England stated that its National Safeguarding Team would liaise with the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel to ensure …

70 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Include clergy in position of trust definition

The government should amend Section 21 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 so as to include clergy within the definition of a position of trust. This would criminalise under s16-s20 …

- On 9 March 2021, the Ministry of Justice and Home Office stated that the government would introduce the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill …

19 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Nottingham harmful sexual behaviour evaluation

Nottingham City Council and its child protection partners should commission an independent, external evaluation of their practice concerning harmful sexual behaviour, including responses, prevention, assessment, intervention and workforce development. An …

- In July 2021, Nottingham City Council stated that the NSPCC had undertaken an independent external evaluation of its practice in relation to harmful sexual …

33 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Assessment of potential risks posed by foster carers and residential care staff

Nottingham City Council should assess the potential risks posed by current and former foster carers directly provided by the council in relation to the sexual abuse of children. They should …

- On 20 December 2021, Nottingham City Council stated that an internal fostering review was complete and that external assurance had been sought (Government Response, …

78 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Revise Victims Code for CSA victims

The Ministry of Justice should revise the Victims' Code to make clear that victims and survivors of child sexual abuse must be advised by the police that: 1. They are …

- On 16 January 2020, the College of Policing made changes to its Authorised Professional Practice to require police officers to provide victims with information …

79 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Codes of practice for civil CSA claims

The Local Government Association and the Association of British Insurers should each produce codes of practice for responding to civil claims of child sexual abuse. The codes should include recognition …

- In August 2021, the Association of British Insurers published a Code of Practice on Responding to Civil Claims of Child Sexual Abuse (Government Response, …

80 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

National register of public liability insurance

The Department for Work and Pensions should work with the Association of British Insurers to introduce a national register of public liability insurance policies. The register should provide details of …

- In November 2021, the Ministry of Justice stated that it had commenced discussions with the Association of British Insurers on a public liability register …

81 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Revised damages guidelines for CSA cases

The Judicial College should revise its Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases to include a freestanding section on the damages that may be appropriate in …

- The Judicial College informed the Inquiry that the revised edition of its Guidelines for the Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases was …

88 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Rehabilitation code for CSA civil claims

The International Underwriting Association of London should take the lead in the production of a code for the benefit of claimants who are bringing civil claims for child sexual abuse. …

- On 23 February 2021, the International Underwriting Association of London stated that it had established a working party to develop a rehabilitation code for …

97 Accepted in Part

IICSA (2019)

Clarify Compensation Act on apologies

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 …

- On 16 March 2021, the Ministry of Justice stated that it would consult on the subject of apologies, including consideration of the use of …

98 Accepted

IICSA (2019)

Increase use of criminal compensation orders

The Ministry of Justice should consult with the Sentencing Council, the Judicial College, the Crown Prosecution Service and other relevant bodies, in order to increase the use of criminal compensation …

- On 6 April 2020, the Ministry of Justice stated that it had consulted with the Judicial College and the Sentencing Council on increasing the …

4 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

National plan for overseas CSA by UK nationals

The Home Office should coordinate the development of a national plan of action addressing child sexual abuse and exploitation overseas by UK nationals and residents of England and Wales, involving …

- In January 2021, the Home Office confirmed that it would implement this recommendation as part of the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy (Government Response, …

34 Not Accepted

IICSA (2020)

DBS certificates for overseas work

The Home Office should introduce legislation permitting the Disclosure and Barring Service to provide enhanced certificates to UK nationals and residents of England and Wales applying for: 1. work or …

- In January 2021, the Home Office stated that the UK government would continue to work with ACRO to publicise the International Child Protection Certificate …

35 Not Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Mandatory DBS for work with children overseas

The Home Office should introduce legislation making it mandatory for: 1. all UK nationals and residents of England and Wales to provide a prospective employer overseas with an enhanced Disclosure …

- In January 2021, the Home Office stated that although this recommendation envisaged placing the legal obligation on prospective employees, it continued to consider legislative …

36 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Guidance on DBS for overseas work

The Home Office should ensure explanatory guidance is issued, providing clarity to recruiting organisations and individuals concerning the use of the Disclosure and Barring Service scheme for work and volunteering …

- In January 2021, the Home Office stated that the DBS signposts applicants to the International Child Protection Certificate scheme (Government Response, Home Office, January …

104 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

High risk countries list for travel orders

The Home Office should bring forward legislation providing for the establishment and maintenance by the National Crime Agency of a list of countries where children are considered to be at …

- In January 2021, the Home Office confirmed that it would bring forward legislation to establish a list of countries where children are at high …

37 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Westminster whistleblowing policies for CSA

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 …

- On 18 September 2020, the UK government confirmed that all government departments have whistleblowing policies in place covering child sexual abuse, and that Civil …

38 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Government department safeguarding policy reviews

The Cabinet Office must ensure that each government department reviews its child safeguarding policy or policies in light of the expert witness report of Professor Thoburn. There must also be …

- On 18 September 2020, the UK government confirmed that all government departments were aware of Professor Thoburn's report and that Civil Service child safeguarding …

39 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Political party safeguarding policies

All political parties registered with the Electoral Commission in England and in Wales must ensure that they have a comprehensive safeguarding policy. All political parties must also ensure that they …

- On 3 July 2020, the Electoral Commission stated that given its statutory remit, introducing a requirement to monitor political party safeguarding policies would require …

99 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Honours forfeiture for CSA convictions

The criteria for forfeiture of all honours must be formally extended to include convictions, cautions and cases decided by trial of the facts involving offences of child sexual abuse. This …

- On 30 September 2021, the Cabinet Office updated its guidance on honours forfeiture so that anyone convicted of a sexual offence will be considered …

100 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Posthumous honours forfeiture policy

The Cabinet Office should re-examine the policy on posthumous forfeiture, in order to consider the perspectives of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse.

- In September 2021, the Cabinet Office updated its guidance on honours forfeiture to allow for a formal statement to be published where a forfeiture …

40 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Publish interim online harms code of practice

The government should publish, without further delay, the interim code of practice in respect of child sexual abuse and exploitation as proposed by the Online Harms White Paper (published April …

- On 15 December 2020, the UK government published the Interim Code of Practice on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (Government Response, Home Office, December …

71 Not Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Pre-screen material before upload

The government should require industry to pre-screen material before it is uploaded to the internet to prevent access to known indecent images of children.

- In November 2020, the UK government stated that it had launched the Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse alongside the …

105 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

WeProtect international action on CSAM

The government should press the WeProtect Global Alliance to take more action internationally to ensure that those countries hosting indecent images of children implement legislation and procedures to prevent access …

- In November 2020, the UK government committed to continue working with the WeProtect Global Alliance to combat indecent images of children, including through the …

106 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Online age verification legislation

The government should introduce legislation requiring providers of online services and social media platforms to implement more stringent age verification techniques on all relevant devices.

- On 12 May 2021, the government published a draft Online Safety Bill including provisions requiring providers of regulated services to consider age verification techniques …

5 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Reform Church of England clergy discipline for safeguarding

The Church of England should make changes and improvements to the way in which it responds to safeguarding complaints (whether related to allegations of abuse, or a failure to comply …

- In March 2021, the Church of England endorsed proposals for a new independent complaints process for safeguarding (Government Response, Church of England, March 2021). …

41 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Create diocesan safeguarding officers

The Church of England should create the role of a diocesan safeguarding officer to replace the diocesan safeguarding adviser. Diocesan safeguarding officers should have the authority to make decisions independently …

- In March 2021, the Church of England stated that Canon C30 and the Safeguarding (Code of Practice) Measure would give diocesan safeguarding advisers stronger …

42 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Church in Wales provincial safeguarding officers

The Church in Wales should make clear that the operational advice of provincial safeguarding officers must be followed by all members of the clergy and other Church officers. It should …

- On 7 April 2021, the Church in Wales stated that its safeguarding policy, procedural documents and training materials would make clear that the operational …

43 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Church in Wales record-keeping policies

The Church in Wales should introduce record-keeping policies relating to safeguarding, complaints and whistleblowing. These should be implemented consistently across dioceses. The Church should develop policies and training on the …

- On 7 April 2021, the Church in Wales stated that its national online safeguarding case management and record-keeping system had launched, covering safeguarding, complaints …

44 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Church of England/Wales information sharing protocol

The Church of England and the Church in Wales should agree and implement a formal information-sharing protocol. This should include the sharing of information about clergy who move between the …

- In June 2021, the Church of England announced that the updated House of Bishops' handling of Clergy Personal Files policy covers data sharing with …

45 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Local diocesan information sharing protocols

The Church of England, the Church in Wales and statutory partners should ensure that information-sharing protocols are in place at a local level between dioceses and statutory partners.

- In March 2021, the Church of England stated that it would work with statutory partners to ensure information-sharing protocols are in place at local …

46 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Church independent external safeguarding audits

The Church in Wales should introduce independent external auditing of its safeguarding policies and procedures, as well as the effectiveness of safeguarding practice in dioceses, cathedrals and other Church organisations. …

- In March 2021, the Church of England stated that it remained committed to independent external auditing of safeguarding, noting this recommendation was directed at …

89 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Church funding policy for victim support

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 …

- In April 2021, the Church in Wales stated that it had introduced Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) support for survivors (Government Response, Church in …

6 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Redraft canonical crimes as crimes against the child

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales should request that the Holy See redraft the canonical crimes relating to child sexual abuse as crimes against the child.

- On 30 September 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry confirmed that Book VI of the Code of Canon Law had been redrafted, with …

7 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

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. …

- On 30 April 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry stated that a framework and template for complaints was ratified by the Bishops, covering …

47 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Catholic lead clergy for safeguarding

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Conference of Religious in England and in Wales should each nominate a lead member of the clergy for safeguarding to …

- On 30 April 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry stated that the role description for the Lead Bishop for the Catholic Bishops' Conference …

48 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Mandatory Catholic safeguarding training

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales should ensure that safeguarding training is mandatory for all staff and volunteers in roles where they work with children or victims and …

- On 30 April 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry stated that it had mandated that clergy and parish safeguarding representatives must undergo basic …

49 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Catholic non-compliance framework

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Conference of Religious should publish a clear framework for dealing with cases of non-compliance with safeguarding policies and procedures. That …

- On 30 September 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry stated that the trustee bodies of all Catholic dioceses and religious orders were invited …

50 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Independent validation of Catholic audit programme

The Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service should have the effectiveness of its audit programme regularly validated by an independent organisation which is external to the Church. These independent reports should be …

- On 30 September 2021, the Catholic Council for the Inquiry stated that the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency Board was committed to independent validation of …

51 Accepted

IICSA (2020)

Review Catholic safeguarding policies manual

The Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service should review its policies and procedures manual and the documents within it to ensure that they are consistent, easier to follow and more accessible.

- In November 2021, the Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency website was launched, containing National Safeguarding Standards and the National Safeguarding Policy (Government Response, Catholic Safeguarding …

52 Accepted

IICSA (2021)

Lambeth Council comprehensive action plan

Lambeth Council should develop and publish a comprehensive action plan which details the actions that it will take in response to the issues raised throughout the Inquiry's investigation report. The …

- On 15 December 2021, Lambeth Council published a comprehensive action plan in response to the Inquiry's report, including timescales for planned actions (Government Response, …

53 Accepted

IICSA (2021)

Lambeth councillor safeguarding training

All Lambeth Council elected members should receive training on: (i) safeguarding and (ii) corporate parenting. Newly elected members should receive training on these matters as soon as possible following their …

- On 27 July 2021, Lambeth Council stated that all councillors are required to complete safeguarding training as well as training on corporate parenting responsibilities, …

54 Accepted

IICSA (2021)

Lambeth foster carer vetting review

Lambeth Council should review the application of recruitment and vetting procedures for all current foster carers directly provided by Lambeth Council, to ensure that the procedures have been followed correctly. …

- On 15 December 2021, Lambeth Council stated that staff working with children, councillors and foster carers had appropriate and up-to-date DBS checks (Government Response, …

82 Accepted

IICSA (2021)

Metropolitan Police investigation into Lambeth Council

The Metropolitan Police Service should consider whether there are grounds for a criminal investigation into Lambeth Council's actions when providing information to the coroner about the circumstances surrounding LA-A2's death.

- The Metropolitan Police Service accepted this recommendation, stating it would consider whether there are grounds for a criminal investigation into Lambeth Council's actions regarding …

8 Accepted in Part

IICSA (2021)

Expand Ofsted powers for unregistered settings

The government should introduce legislation to: change the definition of full-time education, and to bring any setting that is the pupil's primary place of education within the scope of the …

- On 2 March 2022, the UK government stated that it had consulted on legislating to amend registration requirements for independent educational institutions in 2020 …

55 Accepted

IICSA (2021)

Religious organisation child protection policies

All religious organisations should have a child protection policy and supporting procedures, which should include advice and guidance on responding to disclosures of abuse and the needs of victims and …

- Between January and March 2022, the Methodist Church, Triratna Buddhist Order and Community, and the United Reformed Church stated that they had updated their …

1 Accepted in Part

IICSA (2022)

Collect disaggregated CSE data

Police forces and local authorities in England and in Wales must collect data on all cases of known or suspected child sexual exploitation and child sexual exploitation by networks. These …

- In May 2023, the government stated that improved data collection on child sexual exploitation was being driven through the Centre of Expertise on Child …