Over 1,000 files belonging to the Church of England’s Diocese of Carlisle have been examined as part of a nationwide review into historic abuse cases.
The independent review was launched to make sure the Church’s safeguarding procedures were managed correctly and incidents reported to the police; victims were supported and risks have been assessed and mitigated as far as possible.
Personnel files, cathedral records, parish returns and clergy files were among those reviewed across England’s 42 dioceses in the new review, which was launched in 2019. The original review was conducted between 2007 and 2009 into allegations concerning children and the remit was extended to include adults who might be at risk in the second review.
The review found one case in the Diocese of Carlisle, but did not need to be passed on to police or a statutory agency – and made 20 recommendations to help the Diocese of Carlisle improve safeguarding practice. Five victims of abuse also shared their experiences as part of the review.
The Bishop of Carlisle, the Rt Rev James Newcome, said: “We would like to thank the independent reviewers for their scrupulously detailed examination of all our safeguarding files and for the recommendations that have been made to further build on good practice.
“I would also like to pay particular tribute to those survivors who so courageously fed back into the process for us as a diocese, despite the terrible pain they have suffered as a result of previous failings by the Church and for which we are so sorry.
“My thanks also go to the many hundreds of parish safeguarding officers whose dedicated work at a local level in our churches is so valued and is so important in protecting the safety of vulnerable children and adults.
“Equally it is important to recognise the dedicated work of our diocesan safeguarding adviser who ensured the independent reviewers have had all the necessary support during this process. As a diocese we will look to action the recommendations tabled in the report as expeditiously as possible.”
In December, the independent reviewers submitted their diocesan report to the National Safeguarding Team which also included input from five survivors of abuse.
The National Safeguarding Team has today published a 129-page report which draws on the findings of all 42 diocesan report as well as Lambeth and Bishopthorpe Palaces and the National Safeguarding Team (NST).
The Diocese of Carlisle has published an executive summary of the local report, detailing the recommendations set out.
Since completing the review, Carol Holt has been appointed the independent chair of the Diocesan Safeguarding Advisory Panel (DSAP) which acts as a ‘critical friend’ both to the Diocese and Cathedral on the oversight of safeguarding protocols and procedures.
She said: “I would firstly like to thank all those people who we were able to draw alongside as part of the review, not least for the patience they showed after the COVID pandemic initially set back projected workflows.
“Those survivors who engaged with the independent review showed great courage and we are incredibly grateful to them. Their testimony was hugely helpful.
“I would also like to thank the Diocese of Carlisle’s senior clergy and management team who have remained completely supportive of this body of work throughout.
“The DSAP is currently in the process of developing a safeguarding plan drawing on the recommendations tabled in the review. I’m delighted that as independent chair I shall have further oversight around this working plan.”
The Diocese of Carlisle has also invited both independent reviewers to return in 18 months’ time to complete a further review of the implementation of the recommendations.
