Order Paper 2 contains the business for Saturday morning and afternoon.
Official press release on the safeguarding business: Synod gives final approval for Safeguarding legislation – copied below the fold
Official summaries of the day’s business:
morning
afternoon and evening
Archbishop of Canterbury’s speech in the debate on senior church leadership: Archbishop speaks at Synod on senior church leadership
Sound recordings
morning
farewell to Michael Perham
afternoon
evening
Press reports
John Bingham The Telegraph Sex abuse priests could return to church without checks, warns Archbishop of York
Synod gives final approval for Safeguarding legislation
11 July 2015
The General Synod today gave final approval to a package of proposals intended to take further the process of making the Church a safer place for children and vulnerable adults – both by making the disciplinary processes under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003 more effective where safeguarding issues arise and by strengthening the Church’s wider legal framework in relation to safeguarding in various ways. The legislation was originally introduced in February 2014 following a consultation launched at Synod in July 2013.
Speaking in the debate, Bishop Paul Butler, lead bishop on safeguarding, said:
“We all want every single one of our churches and institutions to be safer places and communities for all people; notably for children and adults at times of risk and harm, whether that be long or short term.” He added that along with facing up to the consequences of the past “our emphasis has to be on prevention” stressing that, along with the new legislation, high quality training, safe recruiting and effective quality assurance needed to be implemented at every level of church life. The Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure and draft Amending Canon No. 34 (links below) contains a range of elements including:
Adding to the bishop’s existing powers to suspend a priest or deacon, extending to circumstances where the local authority or police provide information which leads the bishop to be satisfied that they present a significant risk of harm. With similar powers for an archbishop to suspend a bishop in such circumstances. (As with all existing provisions this includes a right of appeal to President of Tribunals where suspension occurs).
The aim is to secure Parliamentary approval and the Royal Assent by the end of the year.
Notes
The Bishop of Durham’s speech on Final approval for the Draft Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure is available here.
and the Bishop of Durham’s speech on the Final approval for the Draft amending Canon No. 34 is available here.
The Draft Safeguarding and Clergy Discipline Measure
The latest practice guidance, approved by the House of Bishops, May 2015
I probably don’t understand the safeguarding procedures well enough, but wouldn’t the DBS check show up any sex abuse convictions/warnings, however old?
I don’t know if a DBS check is required for PTO. I would have assumed so.
Is the worry that there are cases where complaints were dealt with “internally”, i.e. hushed up from the police, so there would be no record at all with the police which would show up on the DBS?
At last, a fulsome acknowledgement from the Archbishop of Canterbury of Michael Perham’s huge contribution to the life, worship and mission of the Church of England, It’s in such stark contrast to the mean-spirited statement from Lambeth after Michael was cleared of any wrong-doing. But did I detect a certain irritation in the Archiepiscopal voice with the volume and length of the applause that greeted Michael at the beginning of the item? I hope not.