Parliament was prorogued on Friday 24 May 2024 following the announcement of the General Election, meaning any unfinished Parliamentary business will not be taken forward.
The 2023/24 Criminal Justice Bill, which contained the proposals for a mandatory reporting duty in England, did not complete its passage through Parliament and so will not become an Act.
Following the General Election, the new government is expected to use the King’s Speech on 17 July 2024 to lay out its agenda for the next parliamentary session.
We will update our content with any announcements from the new government about mandatory reporting.
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Below is a summary of the proposed mandatory reporting duty from the original news story we published on 13 May 2024
Why did the government put forward these proposals?
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found that disclosures of child sexual abuse to a responsible adult didn’t always lead to action being taken. Protecting the reputation of an individual or institution was sometimes prioritised over the safety of children.
In response to this, IICSA proposed that a mandatory reporting duty should be introduced for those working or volunteering with children to report child sexual abuse.1
The Government responded to this recommendation by conducting a consultation on proposals for a mandatory reporting duty,2 which closed on 30 November 2023.
On 9 May 2024 the Home Office published its response to the consultation, setting out its proposals for a new duty to report child sexual abuse.3
What was the proposed duty?
The duty to report child sex offences intended to make it a legal requirement for people engaging in 'relevant activity' in England to report child sexual abuse to the police or local authority when:
- they are told about it by a child or the person who has carried out the abuse
- they witness the abuse happening.
'Relevant activity' includes all regulated activity, and a list of other specified activities.
Under the proposals, there will not be criminal penalties attached to failing to report under the duty. Instead, the focus will be on referring individuals to the Disclosure and Barring Service and relevant professional regulators.
However, anyone who sought to cover up abuse or sought to obstruct a reporter from carrying out their duty to report could have faced imprisonment.
The Government intends to introduce the duty as an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill (PDF). The draft legislation also sets out a number of proposed exemptions where the duty to report would not be triggered. Details of the duty may change as legislation progresses through Parliament.
How would the proposed duty have affected people working with children?
Anyone working with children should have robust safeguarding policies and procedures so that individuals, organisations, staff and volunteers know what to do if they have a concern about a child.
The proposed duty was an additional measure designed to ensure that information about child sexual abuse is shared with the relevant agencies, so that appropriate action can be taken to safeguard and support the child involved.
Organisations would have needed to understand how the new duty applied to staff and volunteers who are working with children, and how to integrate the additional reporting requirements into their existing policies, procedures and processes.
References
Jay, A. et al. (2022) The report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. [Accessed 09/05/2024].Home Office (2024) Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse consultation. [Accessed 09/05/2024].