Archbishop of York speaks of regret over safeguarding issues in the Church

Stephen Cottrell is currently the most senior member of the clergy after the resignation of former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who stepped down in the wake of the Makin report into historic abuses by the late John Smyth.

No replacement has yet been announced for the Archbishop of Canterbury, with deliberations expected to continue for some months. Writing the foreword to the annual report of the Church Commissioners, which manages the church’s property and investment portfolio, Stephen Cottrell said: “The Church Commissioners is truly sorry for the prolific and abhorrent abuse highlighted in the report and its lifelong effects on his victims.

“We recognise that victims were badly let down by many in different parts of the Church of England and are profoundly grateful for their courage to come forward and share their experiences, knowing how costly this would be.”

The annual report from the Church Commissioners for England – which manages the Church’s investment portfolio – described their reputational risk as currently being “at an elevated level”.

The Makin review, the commissioners said, “gave rise to serious questions about safeguarding practice in the Church of England”.

The commissioners’ report, published yesterday, added: “This case and other safeguarding failures undermine public confidence in the assertions made by the Church, including the Church Commissioners, about the importance of, and priority given to, safeguarding.

“The potential reputational impacts could be far-reaching; for example, they may in turn make it more difficult for us to attract and retain staff.”

The warning came as Church Commissioners announced they would be investing more than £1.6bn towards the work of the Church from 2026 to 2028.

Some £30m is being allocated towards the cost of national safeguarding work, including moves towards greater independence in how safeguarding is dealt with.

Some £150m towards the costs of the new national redress scheme for survivors of Church abuse had already been announced.

The commissioners noted there was also an element of reputational risk around the Church’s work on dealing with its past links to slavery, saying such work had already “attracted significant attention, comment and, in some cases, criticism”.

Their latest report warned: “Further reaction (including negative comment) to this programme of work is expected when the intended new Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice is launched, making investments and issuing grants.”

The Church announced in January 2023 its work to address historic links to slavery, with a funding programme for investment, research and engagement to “address past wrongs” but the initial £100m investment fund was branded too small and slow.