Background
The findings of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse were damning on the Church of England. Recommendations were made for a Redress Scheme to be set up for all survivors of Church-related abuse.
Statements put out by the Church express regret and a desire to take accountability for the Church’s safeguarding failings. They acknowledge that abuse has happened and that the Church could have taken action to prevent it.
The Process of Setting up the Redress Scheme
The Church has been working through a long process to set up a Scheme for survivors of Church-related abuse to be able to apply for Redress.
The Church set up a survivor working group to advise on the framework a national Scheme of Redress would take. The debate over the nature and format of the Scheme has taken five years so far. The Project Board also discussed how the Scheme would be funded, and whether Redress payments would come from a central pot within the Church or if Redress should be taken as close as possible to where the abuse was perpetrated, or harm was done.
The Project Board spent additional time considering the implications of the Makin report to ensure they sufficiently recognise negligence by church officeholders.
In December 2025 a framework for the Redress Scheme was given royal ascent having been through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Who Can Make a Claim Through the Scheme?
Anyone who experienced Church-related abuse is encouraged to apply. Claims can be made for any Church-related abuse when the there was a close connection between the role which a person was authorised to undertake in the Church and the abuse.
Claims can also be made under the failure to act pathway when an appropriate person in the Church failed to take steps which would have prevented abuse, once they were aware of the risk, and could reasonably have been expected to act to prevent it.
What is Church-related Abuse?
The Scheme will consider claims for sexual, physical, psychological, financial or spiritual abuse. The intention of the wording of the Scheme is to cover all forms of abuse.
If a claim is made for physical abuse, or on occasion some other forms of abuse, there may be a requirement to provide medical evidence in support of injuries. Injuries can be physical injuries, or mental injuries.
Abuse is considered to be Church-related if it is carried out by a person acting with the authority of the Church, whether they are paid or not. This means it extends to include volunteers.
There is an exception made when the same person carries out two roles, for example one as a Church volunteer and one as a teacher. If abuse was carried whilst they were discharging their duties as a teacher, the expectation would be that the claim would be directed to the teaching authority.
Who can claim under the Redress Scheme?
The Redress Scheme does not have any limits arounds dates or places. There is no cut off date before which abuse happened that will not be considered. There is no time limit to make an application to the Redress Scheme after the abuse has taken place. A claim can be made to the Scheme for abuse which took place within the UK. In addition, a claim can be made for abuse which took place outside of the UK but was connected to the Church of England. An example of this would be a missionary acting abroad.
Claims can be made through the Redress Scheme by both people who currently live in the UK, and those who do not.
In addition, there is no requirement to have reported the abuse to the police to be able to make a claim through the Scheme.
Claiming for Injuries
It is possible to claim Redress for physical injury, or for mental injury. Long term psychological harm often manifests in mental health struggles. The Redress Scheme includes provision to assist applicants with medical evidence, such as arranging psychological evaluations. As it is also possible to claim for forms of abuse that do not directly cause injury this will not be required for all claims.
In some cases, it will be possible for surviving relatives of those who have suffered abuse to make claims through the Redress Scheme. This would only be considered under exceptional circumstances, for example if a person has taken their own life as a result of the abuse.
Currently the information available for the Scheme suggests that if a person starts a claim through the Redress Scheme and they die during the process of the claim, their family would be able to take over the case.
Criminal or Civil Proceedings relating to Abuse
Making a claim through the Redress Scheme does not mean a survivor needs to report the abuse to the police, however you have a right to do so. If the Church make a payment or give redress in another form, all details are confidential and they are not shared with the police. Any criminal proceedings would be totally separate to the Scheme.
The Redress Scheme states that only one claim can be made for an incident, or a period of abuse. If more than one period of abuse has taken place a survivor can make additional separate claims under the Scheme.
Accepting a payment under the Scheme means waiving your legal right to bring a separate civil claim in relation to the abuse.
If someone has already received some compensation through a separate route this must be declared on applying to the Scheme.
What Form will Redress Take?
The Church of England Redress Scheme will make Redress to survivors in different ways depending on their individual circumstances. There will be a focus on providing support, whether therapeutic or spiritual as well as financial compensation. They can also provide an apology and will consider each case to decide who it is appropriate for the apology to come from.
Financial Compensation
The current proposed financial award framework allows for awards between £500 and £660,000. Applications will be assessed in four stages. The first stage will assess the application with consideration to the type of abuse suffered. In the second and third stages any aggravating factors will be assessed, and the impact the abuse has caused. At stage four in “rare and exceptional circumstances” where other significant factors were unable to be accounted for adequately a discretionary uplift of 20% could be applied.
The Redress Scheme Pays Legal Fees
The Redress Scheme conditions ensure that anyone applying will keep 100% of their award, without a deduction for legal fees. Using a lawyer to deal with your case can remove the emotional toll and stress from the process. There is provision within the Scheme for legal fees of up to £5000 to be paid separately without impacting a financial compensation award.
Winston Solicitors are able to deal with claims through the Church of England Redress Scheme. As the Scheme is not yet open for applications to be made we can keep your details on record, and send you updates about the progress of the scheme. This saves the distress caused by having to keep checking on the progress with the Church regularly that may serve to trigger distressing memories.
Winston Solicitors have a team of compassionate and knowledgeable lawyers who have experience of dealing with claims for survivors of abuse. We can offer support and guidance and will work with you to get the best possible outcome on your case.
You can call Winston Solicitors on 0113 320 5000 or email info@winstonsolicitors.co.uk
