The current government revived the issue in January 2025, when the Home Secretary announced plans to “make it mandatory to report abuse”, indicating that failure to report child sexual abuse would attract professional and criminal sanctions. The resulting provisions, now contained in the Crime and Policing Bill 2024-25, are broadly similar to the previous administration’s proposals, though with differences relating to the mechanism for referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS).
As drafted, the duty would not extend to situations where a professional observes recognised indicators of child sexual abuse, reflecting the earlier legislative approach and diverging from IICSA’s recommendations. Nor would failure to make a required report constitute a standalone criminal offence. These limitations have prompted concern from some quarters, including the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which has questioned whether the proposed framework will provide effective protection.
The Bill completed its Commons stages on 18 June 2025 and is due to have its Lords report stage on 25 February 2026. To date, no significant amendments have been made to the mandatory reporting provisions during its parliamentary passage.
For family law practitioners, the proposed duty, if enacted, will have implications for safeguarding practice, inter-agency information sharing and professional risk management, particularly in cases where parallel criminal and family proceedings arise from allegations of sexual abuse.
Mandatory reporting regimes operate in a number of other jurisdictions, including most European countries and parts of the United States, Canada and Australia. While the scope and enforcement mechanisms vary, such frameworks typically define the categories of mandated reporters and the circumstances in which reporting is required.
