First Nolan Report

Conclusions and summary of recommendations

a single set of policies, principles and practices based on the Paramountcy Principle and the 13 principles of Safe From Harm;
effective and speedy implementation in parishes, dioceses and religious orders, including a programme to raise awareness and train those involved;

an organisational structure in the parish, supported by the Child Protection Co-ordinator and his/her Teams at the diocese and in religious orders;

a national capability (the National Child Protection Unit) which will advise dioceses and orders, co-ordinate where necessary and monitor and report on progress; and

adequate resources to support these arrangements.

Diversity of policy and practice, insufficiency of resources and a lack of national support and co-ordination will, in our view, lead to a weakened, inconsistent and inadequate response.
6.2 The structure of the Church means that responsibility for action lies primarily with individual bishops and superiors of religious orders. However, we do not believe that this need create any difficulty provided that the whole Church in England and Wales and the individual bishops and superiors commit themselves wholeheartedly to the programme we have set out.

6.3 The Committee are aware that the overall impression of this report is highly prescriptive. Faced with the many problems concerning child protection we have made very specific recommendations. However, we are aware of the necessary limitations of such a prescriptive approach. The fact is that should every parish throughout England and Wales follow our recommendations the problem of child abuse would not thereby be eradicated. But our hope is that this report will help to bring about a culture of vigilance where every single adult member of the Church consciously and pro-actively takes responsibility for creating a safe environment for children. Our recommendations are not a substitute for this but we hope they will be an impetus towards such an achievement.

Summary of recommendations

6.4 The rest of this chapter contains a summary list of our recommendations. The reasoning behind them is not set out here but has been set out, in context, in the previous chapters of the report.

Key recommendations

1. The Catholic Church in England and Wales should be an example of best practice in the prevention of child abuse, and in responding to it. (2.7)
2. The top priority is to have preventative policies and practices in place operating effectively in parishes, dioceses and religious orders which will minimise the opportunity for abuse. (2.8)
3. The whole Church in England and Wales and the individual bishops and superiors should commit themselves to
   • a single set of policies, principles and practices based on the Paramountcy Principle and the 13 principles of Safe From Harm;
     effective and speedy implementation in parishes, dioceses and religious orders, including a programme to raise awareness and train those involved;
   • an organisational structure in the parish, supported by the Child Protection Co-ordinator and his/her Teams at the diocese and in religious orders;
   • a national capability (which we call the National Child Protection Unit) which will advise dioceses and orders, co-ordinate where necessary and monitor and report on progress; and
   • adequate resources to support these arrangements. (6.1)

Policy statement

4. The Church should adopt a policy statement on the following lines (2.12):
   • The Church recognises the personal dignity and rights of children towards whom it has a special responsibility and a duty of care. The Church, and individual members of it, undertake to do all in their power to create a safe environment for children and young people and to prevent their physical, sexual or emotional abuse. The Church authorities will liaise closely with statutory agencies to ensure that any allegations of abuse are promptly and properly dealt with, victims supported and perpetrators punished.
     

Organisation

Parish

5. A lay child protection representative should be appointed by the parish priest in every parish and have these general responsibilities:
   to ensure
   • that diocesan policies and procedures are known and followed,
   • that awareness is raised, and
   • that principles are worked through into everyday practice. (5.3)

Diocese and religious order

6. Each bishop and religious superior should appoint a Child Protection Co-ordinator (CPC) for the diocese or religious order. (3.4, 5.4 and 5.9)
7. The Child Protection Co-ordinator and his/her Team will
   • ensure that the diocese has implemented and regularly reviews guidelines based on Safe From Harm to prevent abuse;
   • be proactive in helping parishes and others in the diocese apply the guidelines - by giving advice on how to apply them and how to make the necessary contacts and checks, by facilitating training and awareness events, and so on; and
   • oversee arrangements for responding to allegations and for risk assessment. (5.5)
8. We do not consider it essential that Child Protection Co-ordinators should be priests. (5.6)
9. The CPC must have the time, resources and supporting arrangements (including access to professional support) to do the job properly (5.7)
10. We commend arrangements (based on one diocese) where there is an overarching Child Protection Policy Team having the oversight of further teams focusing on (i) implementation and training, (ii) response to allegations and risk assessment, and (iii) pastoral care. (5.8)

National Child Protection Unit

11. A National Child Protection Unit should be set up. It would give moral support and expert advice, collect and disseminate good practice, hold databases of training facilities and other useful information, and maintain the central confidential database of information (see recommendation 25). The Unit would liaise with the statutory agencies (including the Criminal Records Bureau) at national level, with professional bodies and leading charities in the field and with the other Churches. It would also have a valuable role in collecting data, monitoring that effective arrangements are implemented in dioceses and orders, and in seeking to secure improvements where that is not so. (5.10)
12. The National Child Protection Unit should make an annual report to diocesan bishops and religious superiors on the effectiveness of arrangements in each diocese and order, and also an annual report, which should be published, to the Bishops' Conference on the position overall. (5.10)

Creating a safe environment

13. The 13 principles in the Home Office document Safe from Harm should be adopted by the Church as the guiding principles to create a safe environment for children and to keep them safe from harm. (3.1)
14. Each parish should appoint an independent person for children to talk with (this could be a joint appointment between several parishes) and their contact details together with contact details for appropriate children's helplines should be easily available in the parish Church and other places where activity with children takes place. (3.8)
15. For all posts (paid or voluntary) involving work with children there should be clear job descriptions. The National Child Protection Unit should prepare and circulate model job descriptions for a range of posts. (3.10)
16. For all posts (paid or voluntary) involving work with children there should be effective supervision providing an opportunity to review progress and discuss issues. (3.11)

Selection and appointment

17. Before taking up a post (paid or voluntary) involving work with children, those concerned should complete an application, give references, give details of any relevant previous criminal convictions and agree to a criminal record check. (3.13)
18. Failure to comply with recommendation 17 must mean that the individual cannot be appointed to the post. (3.14)
19. References must be taken up, and the candidate must be given a personal interview. Any doubts must be pursued. (3.14)
20. On appointment, individuals should serve a probationary period before being confirmed in the post. (3.14)
21. The Church and relevant Church organisations should register with the Criminal Records Bureau and use its services as a matter of course. (3.15)
22. The same principles apply to the selection of candidates for ordination. Selection Boards should err on the side of caution. (3.16)
23. Bishops and religious superiors should not overrule Selection Boards where reservations are expressed about a candidate's suitability for ordination on the grounds of possible risks to children and young people. (3.17)
24. It is essential that those who are involved in advising on or making decisions about the formation and ordination of candidates should have access to all the necessary information. (3.18)
25. The Church should maintain a single national database of information on all applicant candidates for ordained ministry and decisions should not be made by Selection Boards, bishops or religious superiors without reference to it. (3.18)
26. The idea of a National Selection Board for candidates should be considered for adoption if implementation of recommendations 23 to 25 fails to secure uniformity of approach. (3.19)

Review

27. On moving to a new post outside the diocese, diocesan clergy, those who belong to religious orders, and lay workers should have their position reviewed and appropriate action taken if necessary. (3.20)

Training and awareness

28. Training and the raising of awareness is a key requirement. Diocesan Child Protection Co-ordinators should have a particular responsibility for ensuring that appropriate training and awareness raising is undertaken and the National Unit will have a facilitating role. (3.22/23)

Responding to allegations

29. The CPC must ensure that arrangements and trained personnel are in place to respond to allegations. (4.3)
30. Every diocese and religious order must have a properly composed Child Protection Management Team to deal effectively with any reports or incidents. (4.4)
31. The CPC should normally chair the Child Protection Management Team which should include child care professionals, a solicitor, a communications officer, a lay person and a priest. Other expert members may be appropriate in particular circumstances. (4.4)
32. Disclosures and suspicions should always be investigated and acted on swiftly. The Paramountcy Principle (that the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in proceedings concerning children) applies. (4.5)
33. Anybody who receives a disclosure should advise the maker of it to share it with the statutory agencies (i.e. the local social services and the police) and the CPC and be ready to support him or her in doing so; suspicions should at the least be shared with the CPC who will initiate a risk assessment and bring in the statutory agencies as necessary. If in any doubt, recipients should take such action themselves. Either they or the CPC should write to the person who has made the disclosure setting out the advice they gave and providing information about contact addresses, etc. (4.5)
34. Any information offered "in confidence" (unless it is the confidentiality of the confessional, which is absolute) should be received on the basis that it will be shared with the CPC and, if appropriate, the statutory agencies. (4.5)
35. Otherwise careful confidentiality should be observed and information only be shared on the basis of a strict "need to know". (4.5)

Risk assessment

36. Where there is suspicion but no disclosure of actual abuse, the CPC will arrange for an initial risk assessment and advise, with the CPMT on what action, if any, should be taken. Where there is disclosure there will be consultation between social services, the police and the CPMT about appropriate action. (4.9)
37. The subject of a risk assessment should normally be informed of its outcome face to face (4.10)

Withdrawal and leave

38. Where judged necessary by the police, social services, or the CPC and his/her Team
    • volunteers should be required to withdraw from any church situation involving children until investigations are complete;
    • any person employed by the Church should be required to take leave from their duties on full pay until investigations are complete. (4.11)
39. On the recommendation of the CPC and his/her Team following consultation with social services and the police, any priest or deacon should be required to take administrative leave at a location to be determined by the bishop. (4.12)
40. If the concerns or allegations are about the bishop himself, similar procedures should be followed. We invite bishops to signify their consent to such arrangements. (4.13)

Past events

41. It is important to treat current disclosures of abuse that took place some years ago ("historical allegations") in the same way as allegations of current abuse. (4.14)
42. Bishops and religious superiors should ensure that any cases which were disclosed in the past but not acted on ("historic cases") should be the subject of a risk assessment as soon as possible, and that there is appropriate follow-up action including possibly regular risk assessment review. (4.15)

Help and support

43. A "support person" should be available to those who have, or may have, suffered abuse and their families, to assist them in making a complaint, to facilitate them in gaining access to information and other more specialised help, and to represent their concerns on an ongoing basis. (4.17)
44. The bishop should provide appropriate support to help parishes cope where there are allegations against the priest (4.18)
45. An "Advisor" should be available to those (whether clergy, paid staff or volunteer) against whom allegations are made, to provide advice, to ensure legal representation if necessary and to look to any accommodation or other needs. (4.19)
46. A person against whom allegations are made should not be legally represented by the solicitor who is representing the diocese. (4.20)
47. The CPC should be responsible for ensuring the appointment of people to support victims and to provide advice to alleged abusers and for overseeing that they receive appropriate training , but they should operate completely independently of the CPC and his/her Team in relation to particular cases. (4.17/19)

Abusers who have been convicted or cautioned

48. Clergy and lay workers who have been cautioned or convicted of a serious offence against children should no longer be allowed to hold any position that could possibly put children at risk again. (4.21)
49. If a priest or deacon is convicted of a criminal offence against children and is sentenced to serve a term of imprisonment of more than 12 months, then it would normally be right to initiate the process of laicisation. (4.22)
50. The Church can also "suspend" a priest, or declare him "impeded", from the exercise of his orders. These penalties can only be applied for a period of time and whilst the underlying reason for imposing the penalty continues to exist. We believe these are certainly appropriate penalties for any conviction or caution for a child abuse offence. (4.23)