Redress Church of England

The Survivors Trust are appointed to deliver the Redress Helpline, which will offer practical and emotional support to victims and survivors preparing applications.

FAQs and information is also updated

Experienced judge Heather Baucher appointed to lead the independent appeals process for the Church of England’s Redress Scheme. 

The Redress Project Team started hosting monthly Redress Information and Guidance sessions, providing potential applicants with support and information ahead of the Scheme's launch.

At General Synod, the amended Redress Rules were presented and passed. These are an updated version of the rules which were approved at Synod in July 2025. The amendments concern a number of practical and procedural improvements. 

The Rules detail the operational procedures, including application processes, assessment criteria, appeal mechanisms and data protection protocols. You can read the amended Rules via this link.  

We have updated our frequently asked questions in response to victim and survivor feedback, and will update them regularly so that the information is accurate and up to date. You can read them on the Redress FAQs page here. We hope you will find them useful.

We are pleased to share an introductory video from Sir Stuart Carlton, Chair of the Redress Scheme Steering Board. You can watch the video here.

The Church of England has appointed Sir Stuart Carlton as the new Chair of the Redress Scheme Steering Board.

Sir Stuart will lead the Steering Board as it continues its work to oversee the development and delivery of the Church of England’s Redress Scheme, which is intended to provide meaningful, survivor‑focused redress for people who have experienced abuse in a Church of England context.

The Archbishops’ Council agreed a person independent of the Church should succeed the current Chair, Bishop Philip Mounstephen. The appointment was made following an open and rigorous process and the appointing panel included two survivors, ensuring that survivor perspectives were embedded in the decision‑making process from the outset.

Sir Stuart is a nationally recognised systems leader with extensive experience across Local Government and Children’s Services. He is widely regarded for his ability to instil a strong culture of accountability, quality and continuous improvement. 

As a Director of Children’s Services, he led his Local Authority to Outstanding judgements across all areas in two separate Ofsted safeguarding inspections and has overseen more than twenty years of Good and Outstanding Ofsted outcomes. Sir Stuart is known for clear, values-driven leadership and a consistent ability to inspire change and deliver innovation at scale. 

He was knighted in 2025 for services to children, young people and families.

Commenting on his appointment, Sir Stuart said: 

“I am honoured to take on this role. The Redress Scheme is an ambitious and vital part of the Church’s response to those who have been harmed. I am committed to ensuring that survivor voices remain central to the work of the Steering Board and that its objectives and outcomes are delivered.”

The Church of England will continue to work with survivors to develop the Redress Scheme carefully, transparently and accountably. The scheme will launch in the latter part of 2026.

We are aware that some legal firms are offering services of support requiring additional fees and potential deduction from redress awards. Any redress award is intended to acknowledge your experience and belongs to you. As the Scheme provides funding for legal advice, you should not feel under any pressure or obligation to use any part of your award to cover legal fees, though your financial choices are yours to own. 

The Redress Scheme has been designed to be clear, supportive, and easy to access. It will be free to apply, and applicants do not need a lawyer to apply to the Redress Scheme, although applicants can get independent advice should they wish. 

Eligible applicants can choose to access funding for legal advice, up to £5,000, which is paid by the Redress Scheme and not deducted from the survivor’s redress award. This can help applicants understand the Redress Scheme process and offer advice on the best course of action. 

Applicants can choose their own legal representative, but they need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Applicants and their advocates can search The Law Society’s official database of legal professionals for free by clicking here.  

If you have any questions or concerns, please email the Redress Team at - [email protected]

The legal framework that allows the Church to set up a national scheme for survivors of Church-related abuse (the Measure) received Royal Assent on Thursday 18 December. This marks an important stage in the parliamentary process as it means it can become part of UK law and the Scheme moves closer to being able to launch.

Survivors have participated in key decision-making on the design and development of the Scheme and will continue to bring invaluable insight as the Scheme moves closer to launch. 

There are still some parliamentary processes which need to take place over the next few months. The Church is currently working closely with survivors and the Scheme’s administrator (Kennedys law firm) to put the operational arrangements for the Scheme in place, including building and testing the application process and preparing support systems and communications. The scheme will launch in 2026. 

We have been made aware of a deeply regrettable data incident involving Kennedys Law LLP. The incident resulted in unintended disclosure by Kennedys Law of email addresses belonging to individuals who had registered for updates on the Redress Scheme. Due to human error, the email sent displayed the email addresses making them visible to all recipients. 

Read Kennedys statement

Read the press release in full 

This should not have happened and we recognise the distress this has caused, particularly for those who trusted the scheme to handle their information with care and confidentiality. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and support efforts to restore trust and confidence.

Questions or concerns in relation to this data breach can be directed to [email protected]

The General Synod of the Church of England approved the legislation that will underpin the redress scheme for survivors of Church-related abuse. The landmark vote on Monday 14th July brings to a conclusion the Church’s legislative process, paving the way for the scheme to open for redress applications, subject to parliamentary approval and royal assent.

The Redress Project Board concluded its careful review of the scheme's eligibility criteria, undertaken in light of the Makin report. The Board’s recommendations will be reflected in the final draft legislation to be laid before General Synod in July. Redress Project Board Chair, Bishop Philip Mounstephen, says: "After careful consideration by the Board, and with invaluable input and advice from survivors, I am confident that the updated scheme criteria will now more fully and effectively address survivor experiences."

The Redress Project Board, which is advised by survivors, took the strategic decision to reflect further on the findings of the Makin report and to consider whether the Scheme’s eligibility criteria sufficiently recognise negligence of Church office-holders who have received a safeguarding allegation or disclosure and have not responded appropriately.

Read the announcement in full here.

The Church of England publishes a revised Abuse Redress Measure ahead of July General Synod where members will debate the proposed amendments.

Read the Synod papers here (See Tuesday 9th July).

Details of the proposed financial award framework that could be used to calculate offers of financial redress are published. Details of the proposed approach to funding the Redress Scheme are also announced.

Read the press release in full.

The Church of England announces that Kennedys Law will be its Scheme Administrator and help it develop further and manage its National Redress Scheme for victims and survivors of Church-related abuse. The appointment was made after a thorough and rigorous process that actively involved survivor representatives at every stage.

Read the press release in full.

An update paper to General Synod is published. In it, the Redress Project Board outlines the progress that has been made since November. 

Read the update paper here.

General Synod approves the first consideration of the draft Redress Measure which makes legal provision for the creation of a national redress scheme for victims and survivors of Church-related abuse.

Read the press release in full.

The Business Committee publishes the draft Abuse Redress Measure ahead of November General Synod where members will give first consideration to the proposals.

Read the Synod papers here (See Tuesday 14th November).

General Synod overwhelmingly voted to support the ongoing work on the Church’s national redress scheme acknowledging the safeguarding failures of the Church of England and especially their effect on victims and survivors. The presentation and debate, led by the Bishop of Truro, Philip Mounstephen, Chair of the Redress Project Board, included a speech from survivor Jane Chevous, speaking on behalf of the Redress Survivor Working Group.

Read the press release in full.

The Church of England’s National Redress Project continues to make progress in developing a scheme which is a timely, user-friendly and survivor-centred response to victims and survivors.

The Redress pages will provide updates after each National Redress Scheme Project Board meeting, in liaison with the Survivors’ Working Group.

For background, in December 2021 the Archbishop’s Council updated the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) about the proposed Church of England scheme:

Alongside financial reparation, taking into account that no amount of money will remove the consequences of abuse, the Council intends that the Redress Scheme is also to include access to counselling, therapeutic, psychological and spiritual support, acknowledgment of wrongdoing on the part of the Church, and an apology. The Redress Scheme will provide a single point of entry for victims and survivors of abuse, based around standardised, user-friendly eligibility criteria and supplementary documents that will help victims and survivors to navigate the Redress Scheme. So far as is practicable, the Redress Scheme will aim to avoid a formal, legalistic approach to its work, and take account of the views of victims and survivors in its formulation.

On 22/11/2022, the Project Board met for its bi-monthly meeting, to ensure proper governance of the project and to continue its progress.

The Board, chaired by Bishop Philip Mounstephen, was well-attended by members and includes two members of the Survivors’ Working Group, who have lived experience of abuse within the Church.

The Project Team presented a range of updates and papers for the consideration of the Board.

A communications plan drafted and prepared by victims and survivors was welcomed by the Board and there were a number of proposed additions and other constructive feedback. The plan takes a strategic overview of the project along with a timeline that will be populated as the Scheme develops and will form a key part of how we plan to keep people informed about the Scheme’s development and alert people when we are ready to launch the Scheme.

Members also discussed the final report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and some details and helpful discussions about how the Church of England National Redress Scheme will operate. These will be shared more widely when they are confirmed.

There will be regular updates on this website during 2023, as the project progresses and as information and firm dates are confirmed.

The Project Team is also working on “Frequently Asked Questions”, which will be posted on these pages. These will be for those victims and survivors of abuse who will be applying through the Scheme, to inform people more widely about the Scheme and for Church officers and staff whose roles may connect with the National Redress Scheme.

We also aim to keep victims and survivors informed of any updated posted on this webpage through the Survivor Engagement Newsletter. If a victim, survivor or any person with lived experience of Church-related abuse wants to sign up, they should contact [email protected]

Letters to the Church Times

C of E support for survivors and victims of abuse

August 5

Sir, — In response to your report “Survivors upset by delay to redress scheme” (News, 22 July), I repeat our apology to victims and survivors that the scheme is not going to be fully functioning as soon as we would have hoped. As we have previously pointed out, other schemes of a similar scale took three years to establish, owing to their significant complexity. But I would like to emphasise that we are committed to there being no gap of provision of support for survivors and victims, whether through our current interim support scheme for those in urgent need or through a possible pilot redress project before the main scheme is in place.

The Redress Board, which I chair, and which is tasked with establishing the scheme, continues to work closely with a survivor working group, and two representatives serve on the Redress Board. Their input is key to development of the redress scheme.

Lastly, let me clarify what the principle of subsidiarity refers to. This is about ensuring that appropriate responsibility is taken across the Church for our safeguarding failings, wherever abuse has actually taken place. It is about the national and local Church’s working together, with details still to be agreed. But it is vital to emphasise that this will not affect the survivor-facing aspects of the scheme. Claims will not be thus delayed, and survivors will have a single point of contact, and will certainly not be passed from institution to institution, as has been suggested.

It is important that, as a Church together, we do not forget the failings, highlighted in our three IICSA hearings, that allowed abuse to happen, and that we work together to make our Church a safer place for all. In working to establish the redress scheme, the Board as a whole is deeply committed to putting in place a scheme that is robust and evidently fit for its purpose, and to do so in as timely a manner as possible.

Bishop of Truro, Philip Mounstephen, Chair of the Redress Board

August 12

Sir, further to last week’s letter C of E support for survivors and victims of abuse from Bishop Philip Mounstephen, chair of the Church of England’s redress board, we would like to add the following points.

Over the last year the Working Group of victims and survivors has met to help shape the development of the Redress Scheme. Both as a group, and with two representatives on the Redress Scheme Project Board, we are working to be a voice for survivors and help to ensure the Redress Scheme is centred around the needs of those who have experienced church related abuse. We are working with the Church of England in the hope that the Scheme can be a functional and fair source of redress, offering compensation for harm caused, acknowledgement and apology, and support for emotional and spiritual recovery. The plans are developing and moving forward, although the scale of the task means it is slower than originally hoped for and we want it to be the best it can be. We are pleased to hear that the Church is discussing closing the gap between the Interim Scheme and the Redress Scheme. It is crucial that the current gaps in provision are closed to ensure that the necessary support for survivors remains available

Redress Scheme Victim and Survivor Working Group 

Update on national Redress Scheme

06/07/2022

A key paper ‘Principles, Priorities and Processes’, from the redress scheme survivor working group was presented which communicated survivors hopes for the scheme. It was agreed that an action plan to set out what would be required to implement the ideas in the paper will be brought back to the next board meeting.

The Board, chaired by the Bishop of Truro, Philip Mounstephen and which includes survivor representatives, also considered whether a legislative process would be needed to underpin the Scheme. This followed a previous decision by the Project Board that the principle of subsidiarity should apply – that appropriate responsibility for redress needs to be taken at every level of the Church as well as national; this would include dioceses, PCCs, theological educational institutions and religious communities. It was agreed to pursue the legalislative route but following a discussion where concerns were raised about timescale and the lengthy legislative process, Board members agreed to aim to have a pilot up and running before completion of legislation.  

The project team have researched the standard time for the creation of other schemes of a similar scale (Ireland, Australia, Scotland) and these took up to three years to design and set up. Therefore, the process for setting up the scheme will include a procurement process and/or legislation which could take final completion of the project into 2024 or 2025. However, the Board is very mindful both of the need to ensure a robust scheme that is fully responsive to the needs of survivors, and to deliver a scheme in a short a timescale as is possible. Thus, the project team is currently looking into whether it is possible to launch a pilot phase by the end of 2023.

It was also agreed to move ahead with the procurement and tender process for the provider of the Scheme, noting the importance of wider consultation with different stakeholders, including victims and survivors and that survivors must have confidence in the chosen provider. Survivor representatives from the working group will be involved in the procurement panel to assess the potential providers.