Standard Four: Effective Management of Allegations and Concerns
Wednesday, March 11th, 2026 @ 10:25 am
The fourth standard requires Church bodies to have processes for people to raise concerns or make allegations where appropriate that are clear, understood, accessible and reviewed by leadership.
Each Church body will have processes for raising concerns or making allegations, which are clear, understood, and accessible and reviewed by its leadership.
The criteria which indicate that this standard is being met include…
EF1
The Church body will:
- Ensure that it receives and responds to allegations in line with the nationally agreed policies and Canon Law, including through reporting to statutory authorities within expected timescales.
- Collect necessary information to respond to allegations and concerns, while ensuring that this does not conflict with, or jeopardise the actions of, statutory authorities.
- When necessary, investigate allegations and utilise the findings to inform subsequent actions.
- Maintain an appropriate level of confidentiality in respect of allegations or concerns, in line with accepted standards.
- Keep accurate and retrievable records of allegations and concerns in accordance with data protection principles, national policies and procedures.
- Comply with the stipulations of Vos Estis Lux Mundi (2019, revised 2023) and the DDF’s Vademecum (2022) regarding responding to and supporting those who report having been harmed.
- Where relevant, inform the CSSA of the existence of the allegations and share with them the details that would enable them to respond if required.
- Inform the trustees of the existence of allegations and confirm the responses being made.
- Routinely seek to draw and share learning from any allegations and concerns that are raised as a way of developing practice.
The following can be used to confirm that this standard is being met:
The minutes of leadership meetings within the Church body that record that an allegation has been received and has been responded to in accordance with the agreed policy for the Church.
Records of allegations and concerns received, and details of the responses made to them.
A written plan for supporting those who make and those who are the subject of an allegation.
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