On 22 May, the Home Secretary made a statement on the Government’s response to the final report of the Independent Investigation into Child Sexual Abuse. She told the House of Commons that the Government had accepted the need to act on 19 of IICSA’s 20 recommendations (but see the response to Recommendation 3), though she also told the House that the Government’s response was not the final word. It should also be noted that “accepting the need to act” on a recommendation is not exactly the same as accepting the recommendation in full.

The Home Office is launching a redress scheme for survivors of child sexual abuse that will acknowledge the institutional failures that allowed children to suffer at the hands of predators.

On the proposal for mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse in England – on which the Government had already announced its acceptance – the Home Office has launched a 12-week public call for evidence on how it should be implemented. The consultation closes on Monday 15 August. The mandatory reporting duty would apply, inter alia, “to any person working in a position of trust (as defined by the Sexual Offences Act 2003, as amended)” ­– which includes in section 22A (Further positions of trust) a person who “coaches, teaches, trains, supervises or instructs B, on a regular basis, in a sport or a religion” and who “knows that they coach, teach, train, supervise or instruct B, on a regular basis, in that sport or religion.”

Following is a summary of the Government’s responses: Continue reading →