9. Policy re Reporting Serious Incidents to the Charity Commission

Oaksey Parochial Church Council

Delegation by the PCC Members: Reporting of Serious Incidents to the Charity Commission

Updated: 21 August 2023

1. Background

1.1 The members of Oaksey Parochial Church Council, as charity trustees, are responsible for reporting all Serious Incidents to the Charity Commission in a timely manner. The trustees delegate the reporting of Serious Incidents in accordance with these Resolutions.

1.2 The Charity Commission has approved specific Church of England guidance and templates for PCCs to use when reporting Serious Incidents to it. The PCC Guidance separates Serious Incidents into two types: safeguarding Serious Incidents and all other Serious Incidents. Safeguarding Serious Incidents are reported in a different way from how all other Serious Incidents are reported and so there are separate delegations for reporting safeguarding and non-safeguarding Serious Incidents.

1.3 If a safeguarding incident occurs within the bounds of Oaksey Parochial Church Council, the Safeguarding Officer must inform the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser (DSA) and respond to and manage the incident in accordance with the relevant House of Bishops’ Safeguarding Policy and Guidance.

1.4 Where a non-safeguarding incident is identified, the two Churchwardens should be informed immediately. The Churchwardens are responsible for taking such immediate steps or actions as may be required to secure and protect Oaksey Parochial Church Council’s property, assets and reputation, in accordance with any internal policies or procedures.

1.5 The following two resolutions were adopted by Oaksey Parochial Church Council on 15th April 2019.

1.5.1 Section 2 is a resolution to delegate responsibility for reporting safeguarding Serious Incidents to the Charity Commission and the National Safeguarding Team.

1.5.2 Section 3 is a resolution to delegate responsibility for reporting non-safeguarding Serious Incidents to the Charity Commission.

2. DELEGATION of responsibility to report SAFEGUARDING Serious Incidents to the Charity Commission in accordance with the PCC Guidance.

2.1 In order to facilitate the confidential and timely reporting of any safeguarding Serious Incidents to the Charity Commission, the responsibility for any decisions relating to the reporting of safeguarding Serious Incidents is delegated to Col. Nicholas John Mangnall (Churchwarden) and/or Kevin John McKenna (Churchwarden).

2.2 The following responsibilities are delegated to Oaksey Parochial Church Council’s Safeguarding Officer:

• Responsibility for contacting the DSA, if they consider a safeguarding Serious Incident may have occurred and providing the DSA with any information required.

• Responsibility for liaising with the DSA and reporting back to the Trustee Group on the management and reporting of the safeguarding Serious Incident by the DSA and the Diocesan Secretary (DS), including:

o if the DSA and DS consider that the incident does NOT need to be reported to the Charity Commission, why this is the case, for agreement by the Trustee Group.

o whether the incident will be individually reported or included in the next bulk report.

o approval of a draft report for a high risk incident (i.e. one which will be individually reported).

o providing Oaksey Parochial Church Council’s trustees with a copy of any safeguarding Serious Incident reports submitted to the Charity Commission by the Diocesan Secretary (DS) on behalf of Oaksey Parochial Church Council.

2.3 The following responsibilities are delegated to the Diocesan Safeguarding Adviser and the Diocesan Secretary:

• The DSA is responsible for deciding, in consultation with the DS, whether a safeguarding incident is sufficiently ‘Serious’ to be reported to the Charity Commission and, if so, whether it should be reported individually or included in the next bulk report.

• The DSA is responsible for reporting back to the PCCSO on whether the incident is sufficiently ‘Serious’ to be reported to the Charity Commission and, if so, whether the incident is to be individually reported or included in the next bulk report. If an incident does NOT need to be reported to the Charity Commission, the DSA should provide the PCCSO with an explanation of this decision, so the PCCSO can report back to the Trustee Group for agreement.

• The DSA is responsible for preparing the safeguarding Serious Incident Report. Where the report relates to a high-risk incident (i.e. one which is to be individually reported), the DSA is responsible for providing the draft report to the PCCSO for approval by the Trustee Group.

• The DS is responsible for submitting safeguarding Serious Incident reports to the Charity Commission, on behalf of Oaksey Parochial Church Council’s trustees.

• The DS is responsible for sending copies of any Serious Incident reports submitted to the Charity Commission to the National Safeguarding Team and the PCCSO.

3. DELEGATION of responsibility to report all OTHER Serious Incidents to the Charity Commission in accordance with the PCC Guidance.

3.1 In order to facilitate the confidential and timely reporting of any Serious Incidents, the responsibility for the reporting of Serious Incidents is delegated to Col. Nicholas John Mangnall (Churchwarden) and/or Kevin John McKenna (Churchwarden).

3.2 The Churchwardens are responsible for deciding whether, in accordance with the PCC Guidance, the incident is sufficiently Serious to require reporting to the Charity Commission. If a decision was taken that an incident does NOT need to be reported to the Charity Commission, the reasons for this decision should be agreed with the Trustee Group and recorded in writing by the Churchwardens.

3.3 The Churchwardens are responsible for preparing and submitting the Serious Incident Report to the Charity Commission. Where the report relates to a high-risk incident, the draft report should be provided to the Trustee Group for approval.

3.4 The Churchwardens are responsible for providing Oaksey Parochial Church Council’s trustees with a copy of any Serious Incident report submitted to the Charity Commission.