Abuse Redress Measure 2025

Prospective

5 Meaning of “Church officer” E

(1) This section applies for the purposes of section 3.

(2) Each of the following is a “Church officer”—

(a) a clerk in Holy Orders;

(b) a reader, lay worker or other lay person authorised to exercise ministry under the Canons;

(c) a person authorised to exercise ministry under a bishop’s mission order;

(d) a churchwarden, deputy churchwarden or assistant churchwarden;

(e) a parish safeguarding officer;

(f) a cathedral safeguarding officer;

(g) a diocesan safeguarding officer;

(h) a member of staff of the PCC for a parish;

(i) a member of staff in a National Church Institution;

(j) a member of staff of the diocesan board of finance for a diocese;

(k) a member of staff of the diocesan board of education for a diocese;

(l) a member of staff of the Chapter or Council of a cathedral;

(m) a member of staff in the private office of a diocesan or suffragan bishop;

(n) a candidate for ordination;

(o) a person in training at a theological education institution as a candidate for ordination;

(p) a member of staff in a theological education institution;

(q) a member or officer of a religious community or a person training to become a member of a religious community;

(r) a person training to become a reader or lay worker or any other lay person training to become authorised to exercise ministry under the Canons;

(s) a minister or lay member of a designated Church within the meaning of Canon B 43, or any other person, invited under that Canon to perform a duty;

(t) a person commissioned or sent by a mission agency;

(u) an ecclesiastical judge or legal officer;

(v) a person engaged in a voluntary capacity in work which involves promoting or advancing the work and mission of the Church of England and brings the person into frequent contact with children or vulnerable adults.

(3) In this section—

• “candidate for ordination” means a person undergoing a process of discernment overseen by a clerk in Holy Orders acting in a role commonly referred to as “diocesan director of ordinands”;

• “cathedral” includes the cathedral church of Christ in Oxford;

• “cathedral safeguarding officer” means a person appointed by the Chapter of a cathedral to advise the Chapter on, or to have responsibility for managing, matters relating to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults;

• “child” means a person aged under 18;

• “diocesan safeguarding officer” means a person appointed as such for a diocese under Canon C 30;

• “ecclesiastical judge” and “legal officer” each have the meaning given in section 86 of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction and Care of Churches Measure 2018;

• “mission agency” means a World Mission Agency of the Church of England which is a full member of the Partnership for World Mission and, in the case of a mission that is an unincorporated charity, is to be read as referring to charity trustees;

• “parish safeguarding officer” means a person appointed by the PCC of a parish to advise the PCC on, or to have responsibility for managing, matters relating to the safeguarding of children and vulnerable adults;

• “PCC” means parochial church council;

• “religious community” means a religious community of the Church of England;

• “theological education institution” means an institution for training candidates for ordination;

• “vulnerable adult” has the same meaning as in the Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure 2016.

(4) In the application of this section to the diocese in Europe, subsections (2) and (3) have effect as if—

(a) a reference to a parish were a reference to a chaplaincy, and

(b) a reference to the PCC of a parish were a reference to the council of the chaplaincy.

(5) A reference in this section to a person who is a member of staff in an organisation includes a reference to a person whose relationship with that organisation is akin to the relationship between employee and employer; but a person is to be regarded as a member of staff only if the person’s work involves promoting or advancing the work and mission of the Church of England.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 5 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 33(3)