On 8th February 2024, Andrew Selous MP, representing the Church Commissioners, gave the following written answers to questions from MPs:
Independent Safeguarding Board
Mr Ben Bradshaw MP (Lab, Exeter): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners:
- how many and what proportion of the case reviews that the Independent Safeguarding Board agreed to undertake have been commissioned by the interim commissioner of independent reviews.
- whether the commissioners have had recent discussions with (a) the Archbishops’ Council and (b) other stakeholders on the commissioning of case reviews that the Independent Safeguarding Board agreed to undertake; what the timescale is for case reviews commissioned by the interim commissioner of independent reviews; and what steps are being taken to ensure the adequacy of such reviews.
- whether the commissioners have had discussions with the Archbishops’ Council on the potential impact of recommendations from case reviews commissioned by the interim commissioner of independent reviews on earlier cases.
Andrew Selous MP (Con, South West Bedfordshire): The Archbishops’ Council commissioned the Interim Commissioner of Independent Reviews to undertake discussions with survivors who had been promised reviews by the former Independent Safeguarding Board, about the terms of reference for reviewing their cases. At the request of survivors, the number in discussion with the Interim Commissioner will be kept confidential, given that the number of survivors promised a review by the ISB is relatively small and there is a possibility of identifying individuals.
At present no reviews have been commissioned, though some are in the final stages of consideration. The timetable will depend on the terms of reference and agreements with individual survivors, and the Interim Commissioner is taking care to ensure that each review is adequate to the particular circumstances of the case.
The recent review into the events leading to the termination of contracts of the members of the Independent Safeguarding Board – the Wilkinson Report(opens in a new tab) – identified lessons learned on how recommendations from all case reviews are taken forward, which will be discussed at the forthcoming February meeting of the General Synod of the Church of England.
Church of England: Charity Commission
Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what data the commissioners hold on the number of serious incident reports that have been reported to the Charity Commission by the Church of England in the last 12 months.
Andrew Selous: Each of the National Church Institutions, dioceses, and parochial church councils is a legally separate and independent charitable body, and each body is responsible for making its own serious incident reports to the Charity Commission. There is no central list. The Church Commissioners do not hold information about the number of serious incident reports made to the Charity Commission other than their own. The Church Commissioners made two serious incident reports in the last 12 months; neither report related to safeguarding.
Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church has published guidance on the procedure for investigating serious incidents it has reported to the Charity Commission.
Andrew Selous: The National Church Institutions follow the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on registering a serious incident report. Reporting guidance for any charity, trustee, employee, and volunteer who has concerns about the operation of any charity can be found on the Gov.uk website here: https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-charity
Churches: Security
Jim Shannon MP (DUP, Strangford): To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what funds the Commissioners allocate to churches for (a) cameras, (b) alarms and (c) other security equipment.
Andrew Selous: All churches are eligible to apply for the Home Office hate crime scheme if they need support with new or upgrading equipment or facilities. The Benefact Trust(opens in a new tab) has funded alarms for churches. More details are available on the Church of England website about how to support parishes with resources and advice: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/advice-and-guidance-church-buildings/security-and-crime-prevention
The Church of England in Parliament 
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