On 19th October 2023 we published a short article on the imminent Church of England National Redress Scheme, and there has since been an update. The Church has now published details of what the scheme is likely to contain.
Key points are:
- The Scheme will be open for five years;
- An applicant has to establish that they were abused either by someone in authority in the Church OR they had reasonable grounds to believe the abuser had that authority;
- The Scheme includes cases where the abuse takes place outside the United Kingdom;
- If a survivor of Church abuse dies, their partner, dependant child or parent can bring their own claim;
- Some legal costs will be paid, if the applicant wants to instruct a solicitor.
As yet, the Scheme is not yet in force but the Church will provide an update in February 2024. By July 2024, we should have the full Scheme and it is hoped that it will go live in Autumn 2024.
Malcolm Johnson, head of Lime’s Abuse Compensation Department said:
“To anyone who has suffered abuse within the Church of England, my advice is to contact a solicitor sooner rather than later, and before the Scheme starts. In my experience of similar schemes across the years, applications can take many months and in some cases years with all the consequent distress to survivors. An early application simply means that a survivor gets their Redress sooner.”
Malcolm has experience of representing Claimants in a number of schemes, including the Lambeth Children’s Home Redress Scheme and the Jesus Army Individual Redress Scheme.
He can be contacted at malcolm.johnson@limesolicitors.co.uk.
