Faith charities are among the organisations invited to give evidence to a parliamentary inquiry into loopholes in children’s safeguarding regulations relating to religious communities.
MPs from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Safeguarding in Faith Communities have launched the inquiry, established in April, to improve protection for children in faith settings.
A 2025 briefing note published by Christian safeguarding charity Thirtyone:eight, the secretariat to the APPG, warns of “significant” gaps in the current definition of regulated activity – which barred individuals must not do – within faith communities.
The paper includes examples relating to settings such as Sunday schools and residentials, where the frequency under which volunteers may come into contact with children and young people can fall below the threshold of being regulated.
It also lists roles, ranging from faith leaders to kitchen volunteers and caretakers, who may come into contact with children in faith settings while not being considered as being involved in regulated activity.
“Current loopholes mean many volunteers and workers who have unsupervised access to children are not subject to enhanced DBS checks due to the frequency of their role, increasing the risk of harm,” the paper says.
“Faith leaders and other trusted figures may not be properly vetted, leading to misplaced trust,” it adds.
Assessing strengths, weaknesses and areas of risk
Ruth Jones, Labour MP and co-chair of the APPG for Safeguarding in Faith Communities, said she was pleased to formally announce the inquiry and encouraged “anyone with relevant information” to participate.
“We will be looking at [faith communities’] understanding and application of the definition of regulated activity with children for faith communities over the next 12 months,” she said.
An accompanying statement said the APPG is seeking “to assess strengths, weaknesses, and areas of risk related to the existing definition, and to identify gaps, loopholes, or complexities it may create for faith communities and organisations”.
Speaking at the launch of the inquiry in Westminster earlier this month, Peter Wright, spokesman for the APPG, said that to date “there has been limited research, data, and formal scrutiny of how the regulated activity definition operates in practice within faith communities”.
He added: “This inquiry intends to fill that gap by providing quantitative and qualitative evidence to ensure discussions with the government about key legislation, such as the proposed mandatory reporting [of abuse] duty, are grounded in and informed by the experience and voice of faith communities.”
The inquiry is open to submissions until the end of July 2026, and is taking evidence via several methods including a questionnaire, written submissions and in-person hearings.
