by Lea Legraien, Civil Society
The Church of England is seeking feedback on the design of a proposed safeguarding charity, which will scrutinise the work of church bodies.
A consultation on the structure and independence of a new safeguarding “authority” was recently launched by the church’s safeguarding structures reform programme.
Its proposal follows a General Synod (the church’s national assembly) vote in February and forms part of plans to “rebuild trust and deliver professional, independent safeguarding across the church”.
The church said the authority will be a legal entity separate from the Archbishops’ Council and all other church bodies and governed by a majority-independent board.
It should act “as a centre of excellence for church safeguarding, providing high-quality safeguarding services to the church, and scrutinising the safeguarding work of church bodies to provide assurance of standards,” the church said in a document.
“We want the authority to be a registered charity – though this will require approval from the Charity Commission.”