Review into Church of England’s Independent Safeguarding Board finds serious flaws
from Christian Today:
A leading barrister has published her report on the first phase of the Church of England’s Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB).
Sarah Wilkinson, from Blackstone Chambers, was asked by the Archbishops’ Council in August to carry out an independent review into the work and subsequent termination of ISB board members.
The ISB was controversially disbanded in June with the sacking of members, Jasvinder Sanghera and Steve Reeves, and acting chair Meg Munn following a breakdown in relations.
The Archbishops’ Council asked Ms Wilkinson to set out a clear account of events from the inception of the ISB to the termination of the members’ contracts, and to establish the reasons for the terminations and any lessons that should be learnt.
In her report, Ms Wilkinson said that a “complex matrix of reasons” lay behind the termination of the ISB members’ contracts, including roles that were “not clearly defined”.
“The ISB was designed under extreme time pressure imposed principally by the Archbishop of Canterbury,” said the report.
“While the intention to create an independent safeguarding function rapidly was laudable, the speed at which it had to be designed resulted in serious design flaws.”
Other problems included “misunderstanding” about the legal status of the ISB, which was “unclear from its inception”.
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