19/12/2022
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]