Church of England charities failed on safeguarding allegations – regulator

Two Church of England charities have been reprimanded by a watchdog over safeguarding failures which led to the resignation of a bishop amid allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

The Charity Commission said it is the first time it has issued an official warning against any Church of England diocese.

The Liverpool Diocesan Board of Finance and the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance were said to have failed to properly handle safeguarding allegations against John Perumbalath, who was then the bishop of Liverpool and formerly bishop of Bradwell in the diocese of Chelmsford.

Both are registered charities which aim to promote the work of the Church of England in their respective dioceses.

Mr Perumbalath stepped down as bishop of Liverpool without any admission of fault or liability after Channel 4 News reported last year that one woman had accused him of kissing her without consent and groping her, and another accused him of sexual harassment.

It came at a tumultuous time for the Church of England over various safeguarding failures, which had just months earlier seen Justin Welby quit as archbishop of Canterbury over the handling of a separate case.

The commission said failings in handling allegations against Mr Perumbalath “amount to mismanagement in the administration of the two charities”.

The regulator said that in both instances, “due to lack of appropriate procedures and processes”, trustees in the two diocesan charities “who knew of the allegations failed to take action that would have allowed the trustee boards to fully consider any risks and make a decision on the appropriate action to take”.

The commission said there were “insufficient processes and procedures in place to ensure adequate oversight of safeguarding and protection of those who come into contact with the charity”.

The warning for the Chelmsford charity found there had been a “failure ongoing over a period of about two years” to report a serious incident to the commission relating to a complaint made in January 2023 about allegations of sexual misconduct by Mr Perumbalath when he was bishop of Bradwell.

Trustees of the Liverpool charity, it found, “failed to consider or investigate” a complaint against Mr Perumbalath and failed to “act in the charity’s best interests and to take reasonable steps to protect from harm people who come into contact with the charity”.

Commission chief executive David Holdsworth said: “In the two diocesan charities, lack of appropriate policies and procedures led to a failure to ensure that serious allegations against a senior figure were properly considered by the relevant trustee bodies. We will further engage with both charities as they continue to take steps to address our concerns.”

Bishop of Chelmsford Guli Francis-Dehqani and the Chelmsford diocesan safeguarding officer, Amanda Knight, said in a joint statement they “respectfully disagree” with some of the commission’s conclusions and were “disappointed” by the decision to issue an official warning, which they branded “disproportionate”.They insisted the response to the “complex case” had been “robust and survivor-led”.

But they said they were “committed to working with the regulator to improve our procedures” and many of the actions outlined have already been or are in the process of being enacted.

The trustees for the Liverpool charity said they accepted the commission’s findings and “apologise for the shortcomings identified”, committing to “ongoing learning” and adding that it has already made changes to strengthen reporting and governance processes.

The commission said it will continue to monitor the actions of both charities in implementing their recommendations.

These include ensuring they understand the regulatory guidance on “taking reasonable steps to protect people from harm who come into contact with their charities”; ensuring appropriate information on safeguarding is reported to wider trustee boards rather than just those with delegated responsibility and ensuring serious incidents are reported promptly to the commission.

Failure to follow these up could result in further regulatory action including trustee disqualification.

The Church of England said it takes “very seriously any communication and recommendation from a regulatory body issued to parts of the Church of England which have legal safeguarding responsibilities”.

A joint statement from the Church’s lead safeguarding bishop, Joanne Grenfell, and national safeguarding director, Alexander Kubeyinje, described the case as “complex” and said it will look at the relevance of the commission’s findings regarding trustee involvement in safeguarding cases for all 42 dioceses and cathedrals, each of which are separate legal entities.

They added: “As a Church, our priority in all our safeguarding work remains to continue to improve our practice and respond well to victims and survivors.

“This includes the implementation of further safeguarding reforms, particularly in governance, with detailed proposals to be brought to next month’s General Synod to ensure sustainable and long-lasting best practice.”

Last year, Mr Perumbalath stressed he had consistently denied the allegations against him and said he had complied with any investigation from the Church’s safeguarding team.

In a statement at the end of January 2025, he said: “Whilst I don’t believe I have done anything wrong, I have taken seriously the lessons learnt through this process addressing how my actions can be perceived by others.”