Oral Answers to Questions

Sam Carling Excerpts

Thursday 22nd October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The hon. Gentleman raises a very important point about mental health. It is very much in line with what the Government are trying to do to ensure that young people have the support they need. I thank his schools for showing leadership in that regard. There are, of course, many across the country that are doing that. I will ask the Second Church Estates Commissioner to get the hon. Gentleman an update on what is anticipated.

[Sam Carling (North West Cambridgeshire) (Lab)]

6. What steps the Church of England is taking to ensure compliance with the duty to report child sexual abuse introduced in the Crime and Policing Act 2026.

[Sir Alan Campbell]

The national Church institutions have reviewed the duty to report in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 and consider that the Church’s existing policies and code of practice reporting expectations regarding safeguarding are compliant with the new duty. The Church will continue to keep its guidance under review as the new statutory duty is implemented. Since 2016, all Church officers have a mandatory requirement to promptly report safeguarding concerns, allegations and disclosures of abuse to the appropriate safeguarding authorities.

[Sam Carling]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his reply. General Synod papers from June claim that “it is now clear” that the duty to report child sexual abuse in the Crime and Policing Act does not apply to religious confessionals. That comes despite many reassurances from the Home Office to me and the hon. Member for Wells and Mendip Hills (Tessa Munt) during the passage of the Act that confessionals would not be exempted. What discussions has the Church had with the Home Office to inform its current position?

[Sir Alan Campbell]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. He has spoken very powerfully, over a period of time since joining the House, on the importance of safeguarding and I thank him for that. It is the role of this Chamber to scrutinise the Church and I am sure that the Second Church Estates Commissioner welcomes his continued scrutiny of this aspect of the Church. We all need to continue to do better to address safeguarding. The protection of children and vulnerable adults remains the Church’s first priority. It is committed to preventing abuse and ensuring survivors are heard with compassion and care. He asks a question on a specific point about discussions between the Home Office and the Church. I am not across that, for fairly obvious reasons, but I will ensure that he gets an update from the Second Church Estates Commissioner, which I hope will answer the points he raises.