The Charity Commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales, has opened an inquiry into the Roman Catholic Birmingham Diocesan Trust over safeguarding failings.
The Archdiocese of Birmingham was selected as a case study last year by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). Details emerged at the hearings in November of how senior figures in the archdiocese failed to handle reports of abuse adequately.
The archdiocese had faced 'scores of allegations' of child sexual abuse by priests and others since the 1950s and had paid out thousands of pounds in damages and millions in legal fees. Among those named were Samuel Penney, James Robinson and Fr John Tolkien. The inquiry also heard from former pupils of Croome Court school in Worcestershire of sexual abuse by a priest and brutal beatings by nuns.
Before the hearings began the archdiocese had commissioned reviews of its safeguarding policies, procedures and practices, which the Charity Commission said 'highlighted some serious failings and concerns over how the charity was handling safeguarding matters'.
However, though the Commission requested further information, the archdiocese's responses were 'not sufficiently timely or adequate to satisfy the Commission, given the gravity of the issues raised by the reports nor did it provide adequate reassurance that the key risks were being swiftly and effectively managed'.
Spokeman Harvey Grenville said: 'The public rightly expect charities to ensure safeguarding is an absolute priority, so when anyone comes into contact with people representing a charity, they are protected and the risks managed.'
He said the archdiocese's trustees were 'fully cooperating with the inquiry, and have confirmed that they are committed to resolving matters as soon as possible. They have taken some further actions to respond to the reports issues, including the appointment of two additional assistant safeguarding coordinators, a reorganisation of how safeguarding matters are reported to the trustees and the commissioning of external consultants to work with statutory agencies to ensure all live safeguarding risks are being managed appropriately. These will be relevant when considering our next regulatory steps.'
A statement from the archdiocese said it was 'fully committed to co-operating with the Charity Commission as the Inquiry unfolds, and to the resolution of any and all issues associated with safeguarding.
'Following IICSA the Archdiocese took immediate action to improve its approach to safeguarding, and this work is continuing with additional resources in place to support this.'
