Regulated and Other Activities (Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse) Bill [HL]

Baroness Grey-Thompson Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 17th January 2025 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Grey-Thompson]

That the Bill be now read a second time.

Relevant document: 11th Report from the Delegated Powers Committee

[Baroness Grey-Thompson (CB)]

My Lords, it is a privilege to open this debate. I draw noble Lords’ attention to my registered interests. I am president of the Local Government Association and chair of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Sport Wales, and have other interests as listed.

I thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Walmsley and Lady Brinton, for their tireless work on this topic and their Bills in 2014 and 2018 respectively. I put on record my thanks to Tom Perry and Jonathan West from Mandate Now. I also thank Thirtyone:eight, one of many organisations that have mandatory reporting in their manifestos. I thank Barnardo’s, the NSPCC, the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, the honourable Jess Phillips, the noble Lord, Lord Hanson, and their team. I thank Professor Alexis Jay, who I met this week, and the many other people who have spoken in support of either this Bill or mandatory reporting in a wider context, including all those who have pointed out potential gaps, asked questions and provided thoughtful suggestions to improve the Bill. I am also sincerely grateful to my private office for its extensive support.

Although there is widespread support for some form of mandatory reporting, the devil is in the detail. As legislators, one of our roles is to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Protecting children from sexual abuse should therefore be of the highest priority. Because of this, it is crucial for this debate to happen today. I come at this issue from my own background in sport.

In 2017, after being asked by the then Sports Minister, Tracey Crouch, I produced an independent report, Duty of Care in Sport. While it is really important to note that there are many incredible, caring coaches who have very positive relationships with young people, there are cases in which individuals in organisations knew or suspected child sexual abuse but did not report for several reasons. These may include that the individual was scared to report over fears of losing their job or was worried about their reputation. In one case it was, “I know his wife and family, and I don’t want to do that to them”. I have also heard, “The abuser is a good coach”. No number of gold medals will ever make this okay. While there have been many improvements for safeguards in sport, as there have been in other regulated activities, there is still more that needs to be done.

However, this issue is something that has been debated for many years. As the impact of child abuse has gained more media traction in recent months because of the appalling and sickening reports that we have seen, it only highlights the extent of change that needs to happen. The treatment that those young women experienced was abhorrent, and the impact of it will be felt for decades to come.

Since Rotherham and other child abuse scandals, there have been legislative changes across England, Scotland and Wales. However, in 2022 the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, IICSA, concluded that it was “endemic” and had permeated all sections of society. Victims covered by this inquiry have been waiting a long time and need to know how the Government will report back to them on the next steps. I am pleased that yesterday Yvette Cooper announced government funding for local inquiries into grooming gangs. However, today I hope we can look to the future.

We must continue to learn from past mistakes. While we cannot say that child sexual abuse will stop with this Bill, stricter legislation on reporting will give those children stronger protections than they currently have. A well-designed mandatory reporting law is a key component of an effective safeguarding system. The Bill is about how we protect more of our children going forward. It is slightly ironic that the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 introduced mandatory reporting for money laundering under the regulated sector, so for the past 23 years this country has protected money in ways that it has not protected our children.

The Bill imposes a duty, subject to criminal sanction, for the providers of regulated and other activities, or “mandated reporters”, to report to the local authority where they know or reasonably suspect a child in their care to be subject to sexual abuse, at a time that is practicable. Regulated and other activities include such areas as education, healthcare and other settings, and these activities are listed in the Schedule to the Bill. The Bill does not seek to criminalise the general public who do not report suspected child sexual abuse but rather calls for those in positions of authority over children to speak up and protect them.

I will now cover the issue of who is the mandatory reporter. They are someone who is in a position of trust over the child, or an individual who operates in a setting where an activity takes place. They might also be staff employed in a managerial or general welfare role within the activity. This person is then deemed to have direct contact with a child, whether or not the child has been attended by them. A good example of this is a head teacher: they do not necessarily have direct contact with the child on a daily basis in the same way as a classroom teacher, but they are still in a position of trust and safeguarding. A head teacher would therefore have a duty to report.

If an oral account of sexual abuse is made by a child—that is the most common form of reporting—to a mandated reporter, the reporter must then confirm the account in writing no later than seven days thereafter. As I mentioned, they would then need to file the report with any of the three local authority points of contact listed in Clause 1. It is as simple as that. Sadly, the current mindset in some cases of child sexual abuse is that upward reporting in an institution is good enough. It is not. The Bill will ensure that reporting upwards is no longer sufficient.

As a safeguard, under Clause 2(7) the Secretary of State—it has been pointed out that clarification is needed on which Secretary of State—may issue a “suspension document” or suspend the duty to report where the child’s welfare and safety would be compromised if a report were to take place. Under Clause 2(8) the Secretary of State may also exempt specified organisations that work with children generally, or medical officers. This would include the protection of confidential specialist support services for children. Finally, Clause 2(9) confers a power on the Secretary of State by regulations to amend the Schedule by adding to the activities, or varying or deleting an activity set out in the Schedule.

The Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee’s 11th report of the 2024-25 Session said:

“Despite being a Henry VIII power, the Bill does not make provision for the regulations to be made by statutory instrument. There is also no parliamentary scrutiny attached to the power. Accordingly, we recommend that, if the Bill proceeds to its further stages, it should be amended so that regulations under clause 2(9) are required to be made by statutory instrument subject to the draft affirmative resolution procedure”.


I appreciate these helpful comments as we progress the Bill.

In March 2020 the Office for National Statistics estimated that 3.1 million adults in England and Wales had experienced sexual abuse before the age of 16. In October 2022 IICSA estimated that more than one in six girls and one in 20 boys are being sexually abused in the UK each year. On average, it takes victims 26 years to disclose abuse. The Local Government Association—LGA—estimates that only one in three children who were sexually abused by an adult told someone. According to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, it is estimated that 85% of child sexual abuse goes undetected and unreported. The list of statistics could continue, with reports offering varying numbers, but the bottom line is that child sexual abuse is real, it is happening and it needs to be stopped. Our system is failing the victims of child sexual abuse, and changes need to be made.

A concern that has been raised is that people might be worried about wrongly reporting a suspected case of abuse. However, the Bill safeguards anyone who reports in good faith. Evidence from Mandate Now estimates that seven out of eight victims are not known to the authorities at the time of reporting. The key to detection is for mandated reporters to report their suspicions so that cases can be investigated by those with the training and authority to act. Any Bill should ensure the protection of those who report. It is not an individual’s responsibility to decide whether abuse has taken place, and early detection is the key. Justice is not in the hands of the mandatory reporter; it is in the wider child safeguarding system.

Points have been raised on malicious reporting. It is currently illegal to maliciously report child sexual abuse, and the Bill would not change that. But evidence from Australia shows that, although there was a rise in reporting after the introduction of mandatory reporting laws, there was no detected proportional rise in malicious reporting.

A briefing from the LGA indicates that very few children tell anyone that they are being sexually abused at the time it happens because of the taboo associated with it. Then, if children do tell someone, it is most commonly family and friends, not necessarily people who would be mandatory reporters under the Bill. Too frequently, there is a lack of understanding surrounding child sexual abuse across professions and organisations working with children, so raising public awareness and providing culturally sensitive training and support for all are essential.

We need professionals to feel confident in identifying signs of child sexual abuse and reporting it. In both the United States and Australia, reporting laws have been accompanied by training for mandated reporters, which has improved the quality of initial reports. But there also needs to be improved sex education for children, including how to identify sexual abuse. The CSA report demonstrated that some communities may be less able to name their experience as abuse because of a lack of knowledge about sex and consent. When children are educated in understanding the signposts for abuse, they are more likely to report it to people who will be able to help them.

Evidence from Western Australia has shown that, where mandatory reporting was introduced, the number of reports that were made increased by a factor of 3.7. Professor Ben Mathews carried out a study in Western Australia in 2009 that looked at the impacts of mandatory reporting. His research showed that in the three years before mandatory reporting was introduced there were 662 reports per year, compared with 2,448 reports per year in the four years after it was introduced. Importantly, the number of substantiated investigations doubled, indicating that the introduction of mandatory reporting effectively ensures that more cases are recorded by the authorities.

It has been raised that mandatory reporting will put additional pressure on a system that is already stretched. The physical and psychological effects of child sexual abuse cause generational trauma. It destroys lives and has devastating effects on families and communities.

Last week, in Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer told the other place that one of the “central recommendations” of IICSA was mandatory reporting, and he reminded the other place that he first called for it 11 years ago. We are heading towards three years on from the inquiry, and victims deserve an answer.

IICSA changemakers have been in touch with me. They believe that:

“Effective and timely reporting is a vital part of a well functioning child protection system. That said, mandatory reporting on its own is not a panacea for improving the prevention of, reported rates, considered response and care of victims and survivors of child sexual abuse”.


A significant number of people support some version of mandatory reporting. What we need to do as legislators is ensure that the right protections are in place. The time has come to further legislate to protect our children. The real question is: when and how will action be taken? I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Grey-Thompson (CB)]

My Lords, I thank everyone in your Lordships’ Chamber for the thoughtful and powerful nature of the debate. It is apparent that there is widescale support for a form of mandatory reporting. I will pick up a few specific points.

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Browne of Ladyton; I have had the most significant contact on this clause and under which circumstances there could be exemption. Personally, I saw the ability to apply exemptions as a safety net, but I look forward to exploring this in more detail.

I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan. We are both very privileged to have seen the best of sport, but our experience also gives some indication of why people have previously not reported. That should be a thing of the past.

The noble Baroness, Lady Berridge, raised some important points on the continuing threat of people still not reporting. We should not let that go under the radar. The noble Baroness’s experience in online safety is also vital as we move forward, as we must not devise legislation—this or a government Bill—that is out of date before it is completed, but ensure that it is fit for the future.

It seems that we have been overtaken slightly by recent announcements. I again thank the honourable Jess Phillips and the noble Lord, Lord Hanson, for meeting yesterday. They recognise that there are decades of experience in your Lordships’ Chamber which is on hand to move this forward. I look forward to working with His Majesty’s Government, whether on this or another Bill, to get the right legislation on the statute book. In closing, I repeat the words of the IICSA Changemakers:

“Effective and timely reporting is a vital part of a well functioning child protection system”.


Finally, I thank all those who have taken part in the debate today and those who have contributed from outside. Many are waiting for answers. I welcome the Minister’s “soon”. I recognise that it is necessary parliamentary language, but your Lordships’ Chamber understands what that means. We will all be pressing for sooner rather than later. I welcome all suggestions to ensure that we create watertight, effective legislation to protect our children. We will keep pressing mandatory reporting in its entirety. Today, we have a duty to move at the right but speedy pace, with the right legislation, to further protect our children for generations to come.

Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.