REDRESS for survivors of church-related abuse is to be delayed, it was announced on Wednesday, to enable the eligibility criteria to be reviewed “in light of the Makin report”.
The redress scheme had been expected to receive final approval at the General Synod next month (Synod, 12 July 2024); but, on Wednesday, a statement from Church House said that this was being delayed for “final checks” to be carried out.
The Redress Project Board, the statement said, had “decided 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”.
The statement said that the board was being advised by a Survivor Working Group, which would “continue to play a vital role in shaping the Scheme, providing expert advice and guidance”.
A member of the Survivor Working Group, Jane Chevous, told the Church Times that the move had been a “really hard decision”, and that it was hugely disappointing that the roll-out of the scheme would be delayed. She thought, however, that it was the right choice.
“As a survivor — and I can only speak for myself — it was vital to ensure that the scheme was sufficiently strong in terms of looking at whether an inadequate response to abuse should be a criterion in itself. I want to be confident no church abuse survivor will be excluded.”
In its current formulation, the scheme would consider an inadequate response to disclosures of abuse in the second stage only as an “aggravating factor” rather than in the first stage alongside categories such as spiritual and sexual abuse (News, 26 April 2024).
The Church Times understands that, after the Makin report was published, concerns were raised that some of Smyth’s victims might fall out of the scope of the scheme because the Church’s response to their disclosures was not, in itself, regarded as reason to provide redress.
Final decisions about who qualifies for redress will be taken by the law firm Kennedy’s, acting independently of the Church, on the basis of the criteria that the Synod approves.
The Church House statement avoided predicting the outcome of the “final checks” to the criteria. “This work requires very thorough analysis before the Project Board can decide whether or not it wishes to make any amendments to the current eligibility criteria, and is not a guarantee that new or different policy decisions will be taken,” it said.