Compulsory reporting of child sexual abuse 'must be properly funded'

James Cleverley has announced plans to implement a legal requirement for anyone in regulated activity relating to children in England to report if they know a child is being sexually abused, following a key recommendation from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).

Those who don’t report concerns face being barred from working with young people, with people who actively protect abusers facing up to seven years in prison.

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The police would also be given greater powers to stop registered sex offenders from changing their name if they think they still pose a risk, under the plans.

Cleverley, said: “Having listened to the voices of victims and survivors and reviewed the work of the IICSA, we are working at pace to get a mandatory reporting duty for child sexual abuse onto the statute book.

"We’re also going further, equipping the police with more powers to prevent those who have committed abhorrent sexual crimes in the past from evading the police by changing their name. We will continue use all levers at our disposal to tackle this horrific crime and keep women and children safe.”

However, children's services leaders and educations unions have warned that unless the policy is properly funded and resourced it could increase strain on struggling services.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “School leaders take children’s safety incredibly seriously and invest time and funding in training and resources to support efforts to tackle all forms of child sexual abuse. They already have a range of statutory duties when it comes to safeguarding and are frequently inspected against these.

“However, schools rely on a wide range of other services when reporting concerns. We are concerned about the current capacity of services like children’s social care and the police to provide children with the help they need should mandatory reporting lead to an increase in referrals being made. It’s vital the government provides these services with sufficient funding to ensure they can cope with demand and are not forced to raise thresholds for intervention.”

John Pearce, president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, added: "A rushed, poorly scoped and under resourced policy could adversely affect the very children it seeks to protect if services become overwhelmed and support is not available for children when they need.

"Similarly, it may impact on workforce recruitment and retention, which is extremely challenging across a number of key professions, destabilising vital public services that children and young people rely on. While the duty is focused on reporting of abuses, more attention must be given to stopping abuses taking place at all with wider efforts to address entrenched societal attitudes and norms."

Darren Northcott, national officer for education at NASUWT, said: “We will need to see the full detail of this proposal when it is set out by the government, but we don’t think the case has been made for the introduction of mandatory reporting.

“A key concern is that some of the unintended consequences of mandatory reporting may hinder, rather than help, efforts to keep children safe.”

Meanwhile, Carolyne Willow, director of children's rights charity Article 39, said that the a legal duty for compulsory reporting should be strengthened before it is introduced.

She explained: "For children living in institutional settings - including prisons, residential special schools and mental health inpatient care - a legal duty to report known sexual abuse doesn't go far enough if this applies only when a child has told a member of staff that they are being sexually abused, or a member of staff has witnessed a sexual offence. We have called for a comprehensive duty of protection, which encompasses but does not stop at a legal duty to report."