The government has published its response to the final report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) which was published in October 2022. This article breaks down what schools need to know about how the government will respond to the IICSA recommendations.

The key points are as follows:

The government is consulting on a legal duty to report child sexual abuse (CSA)
The government will work with the ICO on a code of practice on retention and access to CSA records
Improvements will be made to the DBS
A national redress scheme for victims and survivors of CSA and CSE will be introduced
Improvements will be made to data collection
A Child Protection Authority will not be established, but the government will ensure existing mechanisms achieve “the spirit” of the authority
The government will continue to explore the most effective ways of raising awareness of CSA

Read on to learn more about each key point.

The government is consulting on a legal duty to report child sexual abuse (CSA)

A key recommendation from the IICSA report was that the government introduces legislation which places certain individuals (‘mandated reporters’) under a statutory duty to report child sexual abuse (CSA). Mandated reporters should include any person working in regulated activity in relation to children, any person working in a position of trust, and police officers – this would include school staff. It would be a criminal offence for mandated reporters to fail to report CSA under certain circumstances, e.g. where they are in receipt of a disclosure of CSA from a child or perpetrator.

The government has agreed to implement a mandatory reporting regime for CSA – this will be informed by a full public consultation. Alongside its response to the IICSA report, the government launched a call to evidence seeking views on how a legal duty to report CSA would affect children, organisations, workplaces and volunteers.

The government will work with the ICO on a code of practice on retention and access to CSA records

The Inquiry recommended that the government direct the ICO to introduce a code of practice on the retention and access to records known to relate to CSA. The government has said it is working with the ICO to consider this recommendation further, including how any guidance could be updated to put in place such a code.

Improvements will be made to the DBS

The IICSA report made various recommendations regarding the DBS, including:

The government should enable any person engaging an individual to work or volunteer with children on a frequent basis to check whether they have been barred by the DBS from working with children – this should also apply where the role is undertaken on a supervised basis.
The government should take steps to improve compliance by regulated activity providers with their statutory duty to refer concerns about the suitability of individuals to work with children to the DBS.

To complement the work of the IICSA, the Home Office commissioned Simon Bailey, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for child protection and abuse investigation, to carry out an independent review focussed on the DBS. This concluded in early 2023 and made various recommendations which are being considered alongside the IICSA report.

The government is looking at the feasibility of access to enhanced with barred list checks for self-employed people and is reviewing the supervision exemption in the definition of regulated activity. The government will work with relevant bodies to improve compliance by regulated activity providers with their statutory duty to the DBS, including schools.

A national redress scheme for victims and survivors of CSA and CSE will be introduced

The government has accepted the Inquiry’s recommendation to introduce a national redress scheme for victims and survivors of CSA and child sexual exploitation (CSE). The scheme would acknowledge the institutional failures that led to the suffering of victims and survivors.

Details of the scheme, including eligibility, types of redress availability, the extent of any financial element, and the application process will be considered following extensive engagement with relevant stakeholders. The scheme would also cover another recommendation made by the IICSA to introduce a national guarantee that child victims of sexual abuse should be offered specialist and accredited therapeutic support.

Improvements will be made to data collection

The IICSA report recommended that data collected related to CSA and CSE be improved by introducing one single core data set covering both England and Wales, which would include data relating to areas such as the characteristics of victims and the settings in which CSA and CSE occur. It was also recommended that data concerning CSA and CSE should be compiled and published on a regular basis.

The government’s response sets out a number of improvements that have been made in data collection, alongside further measures that will be put in place.

The DfE is investigating whether a consistent child identifier could improve data linking in safeguarding and children’s social care. A report will be delivered to Parliament by Summer 2023 setting out ways to improve information sharing between safeguarding partners.

The DfE will also publish the first part of its Children’s Social Care data strategy at the end of 2023 – this will set out clear standards around data analysis, management, storage, sharing and use.

A Child Protection Authority will not be established, but the government will ensure existing mechanisms achieve “the spirit” of the authority

The Inquiry recommended that a Child Protection Authority be established by the government, which would improve child protection practice, provide advice and recommendations to the government, and inspect institutions as it considered necessary.

In its response, the government has said it agrees “with the spirit of the recommendation” and plans to deliver the effect of the authority without creating a new body. The government will work to ensure that existing mechanisms are all working to properly safeguard, support and protect children from harm, including CSA. Any changes to statutory duties or frameworks would be subject to full public consultation.

The response also refers to the ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ strategy, which was published by the DfE in February 2023 and sets out commitments to achieve a decisive, multi-agency child protection system. The government has said the strategy also covers another recommendation made by the IICSA regarding making amends to the Children Act 1989 in relation to LAC.

A previous commitment made to updating ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children’ was also restated, alongside publishing national multi-agency child protection standards.

The government will continue to work with inspectorates, including Ofsted, to ensure the joint and single agency inspection frameworks reflect the strengthened role of safeguarding partners, which will be set out in revised guidance. Work will also be done to address any gaps in non-regulated sectors, such as out-of-school settings.

The government will continue to explore the most effective ways of raising awareness of CSA

One of the recommendations from the IICSA report was that the government commissions regular programmes of activity to increase public awareness of CSA. In its response, the government refers to a number of public awareness campaigns that have already taken place, including the Stop Abuse Together and No Place to Hide campaigns.

The government will continue to explore innovative techniques and opportunities to raise public awareness.

What’s next?

Read the government’s response in full here.
Respond to the call for evidence on mandatory reporting here – the consultation closes on 14 August 2023.