The Northern Ireland charities regulator has opened a statutory inquiry into the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) following the church’s recent announcement regarding its safeguarding failings.
Last month, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) announced that it was probing information from the charity after an internal review uncovered “serious and significant failings” in its central safeguarding functions.
In a statement published on 12 November, the PCI said it had “failed to deliver an adequate safeguarding service” between 2009 and 2022, and that there was often a basic failure to follow its own guidance.
The failures that PCI’s internal review identified included “situations where we failed to make referrals to statutory authorities when these were required”; “situations where we did not respond adequately to concerns expressed to us about individuals in congregations” and “situations where some offenders returning to worship in Church, following referrals to us by statutory bodies, were inadequately monitored.”
The PCI added that the individual with lead responsibility for this work during the period mentioned was no longer in post.
The charity is now working with current safeguarding team members to take measures to liaise with statutory bodies in relation to both overall failings and individual “poorly handled” situations.
Now, the regulator has said it will be investigating the PCI and its “component elements” (which include stand-alone charities, local congregations and other institutions that collectively form the structure of the church) as part of its statutory inquiry.
Frances McCandless, chief executive of the CCNI, said: “Safeguarding is fundamental to maintaining public trust in charities.
“Every charity must make the safety and wellbeing of those they serve their highest priority.”
The regulator added that it would offer no further comment on the matter so as not to prejudice the ongoing police investigation into the charity.
