NEW regulations governing safeguarding risk assessments were approved without opposition on the Tuesday afternoon.
Introducing the debate, the Dean of the Arches, the Rt Worshipful Morag Ellis KC, said that the Safeguarding (Clergy Risk Assessment) Regulations 2025 were important because they followed on from the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). They included a new requirement that the diocesan safeguarding officer (DSO) advise a bishop or archbishop before they ordered a risk assessment of a cleric, and giving the DSO a part in preparing its terms of reference.
Another change was to allow for risk assessments to be conducted by the DSO rather than an external person (although the option to outsource the work remained). This, the Dean said, would help to reduce delays, which were inimical to good safeguarding. Overall, she said, the aim was to bolster the independence of DSOs and bring risk assessments into the overall safeguarding system.
The Revd Dr Sean Doherty (Universities & TEIs) commended allowing DSOs to conduct risk assessments themselves: they were well qualified. Removing delays was important for everyone, including the subject of the risk assessment, he asked asked for a suggested timeframe to provide clarity for those involved.
The Bishop in Europe, Dr Robert Innes, said that, in his experience, the skill and experience of external assessors were at a higher level than a DSO’s. Risk assessments involved psychological examination of clergy: were DSOs really qualified to do this? He suggested that the bishop should also have a part to play in deciding who conducted the risk assessment.
The regulations were “toothless”, the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Revd Philip North, said. Bishops still wouldn’t have the power to act, even if an assessment concluded that the priest was a risk, which was a “crazy situation”. This had been part of the crisis in Blackburn Cathedral, reported in the summer, he said (News, 23 August 2024), and the House of Bishops was looking into what could be changed in this respect. Amending HR systems and clergy terms of service was necessary.
