Understanding the Church of England Interim Support Scheme
If you've been affected by Church-related abuse, you may not have to wait until the Church of England Redress Scheme opens to receive support. Find out who the Church of England Interim Support Scheme is for, what it offers, and how it could help you now.
As of July 2026, the Church of England Redress Scheme is expected to open later this year.
If your life has been affected by Church-related abuse, that wait may feel frustrating. You might be wondering whether there is any help available now, rather than having to wait for the Redress Scheme to open.
The answer is yes.
The Church of England currently runs an Interim Support Scheme, which can provide urgent financial support for some survivors whose lives are being significantly affected by Church-related abuse.
This page explains what the Interim Support Scheme is, who it is designed to help, and how it fits alongside the future Redress Scheme.
One thing we want to make clear from the beginning is that Winston Solicitors does not run the Church of England Interim Support Scheme and has no involvement in deciding who receives support. Our role is simply to explain how the scheme works and help people understand the options available while the Redress Scheme is still being prepared.
If you would rather speak to someone who is completely independent of any claim or Church scheme, you'll also find details of free, confidential support organisations at the end of this page.
What is the Church of England Interim Support Scheme?
The Interim Support Scheme is designed to help survivors who need support now.
Rather than providing compensation, it offers short-term financial help to people whose lives are being seriously affected by Church-related abuse while the Redress Scheme is still being prepared.
The scheme was established by the Archbishops' Council in 2021. By March 2026, it had supported more than 160 people.
The Church is very clear that this is not a compensation scheme. We've included its own wording below so you can see exactly how it describes the scheme.
The Church’s Own Words
“This Scheme is not intended to provide compensation or restitution to survivors, nor is it a redress scheme. The Scheme is intended to give immediate help and support to survivors whose life circumstances are significantly affected by the abuse suffered, and the response to it.”
From the Church of England’s Interim Support Scheme page, checked 5 July 2026.
One sentence in particular is worth noticing. The scheme recognises that someone's life may have been affected not only by the abuse itself, but also by the way the Church responded afterwards. For many survivors, that response has had a lasting impact too.
Who Can Apply for Interim Support?
Anyone who has experienced Church-related abuse and is in urgent need because of it can apply. The Church’s application page sets out four conditions, and all four need to be met.
The Church’s own words
"You can apply to the scheme if the following circumstances are met:
- You have experienced Church-related abuse based on the available information and
- You need immediate support to avoid either a substantial risk to your mental or physical health or a substantial risk that you will be unable to carry out normal day-to-day activities and
- This need arises from the Church-related abuse
- The support requested is not available from any other source e.g., via Universal Credit, NHS or from any other form of state benefit or support."
From the Church of England’s Interim Support Scheme application page, checked 5 July 2026.
In practice, this means that the scheme is aimed at your crisis, not recognition. It asks whether you need help now, rather than how strong your legal case would be.
That also means that the Church of England Interim Support Scheme offers a different test from the one that the Redress Scheme will apply. Whether you would be eligible for redress is a separate question, and our who can claim page walks through that two-part test.
What Kind of Help Does it Provide?
The Interim Support Scheme provides financial help for urgent needs arising from Church-related abuse.
Every application is considered individually. Rather than using fixed compensation amounts, the scheme looks at your own circumstances and decides what support may be appropriate.
The Church has not published standard grant amounts, so we won't speculate here.
Its published Terms of Reference explain how applications are assessed and who makes those decisions.
Will Interim Support Reduce My Redress Payment Later?
This is one of the questions people ask most often.
The Church's published position is that receiving Interim Support should not reduce any future financial award made through the Redress Scheme.
The Church’s own words
“The Measure was approved by General Synod with an overwhelming majority, following approval of an amendment brought by Bishop Julie Conalty (Chester) to ensure financial awards from the Interim Support Scheme (ISS) would not offset future financial awards made through the redress scheme.”
From the Church of England’s press release on Synod’s approval of the Redress Scheme, 14 July 2025, checked 5 July 2026.
This means that, based on the Church's published position, receiving interim financial support should not leave you worse off if you later receive a Redress Scheme award.
One point is still worth mentioning - the detailed Rules for the Redress Scheme have not yet completed their final parliamentary process. While the Church has publicly committed to protecting Interim Support payments, we will update this page if any part of the final legislation changes before the scheme opens.
Previous civil settlements are treated differently and may affect how a Redress Scheme award is calculated. We've explained that separately on our compensation amounts page.
When Does the Interim Support Scheme Close?
The Church has announced that applications to the Interim Support Scheme will close on 1 October 2026. Applications submitted before that date will still be considered in the usual way.
The Church has also announced that a new survivor support fund will replace the Interim Support Scheme once it closes.
If you think you may need urgent support, it is worth being aware of the closing date so you can decide whether to apply in time.
How Does the Interim Support Scheme Fit with the Redress Scheme?
Although the two schemes are connected, they do different jobs. The Interim Support Scheme is there to provide help now if you are in urgent need.
The Church of England Redress Scheme will provide a longer-term process for financial awards, acknowledgement, apology and therapeutic support once it opens.
The Redress Scheme received Royal Assent in December 2025 and is expected to begin accepting applications later in 2026, although no opening date has yet been announced.
Coming Soon! Church of England Redress Scheme Compensation Calculator
If you are curious about what a future award might look like, our compensation calculator will provide a private estimate based on the statutory tables. It asks for no contact details, stores no information and runs entirely in your browser.
Using the calculator does not affect any future application.
What Winston Solicitors Can & Cannot Help With
It's important to be clear about where we can and cannot help. Applications to the Interim Support Scheme are made directly to the Church of England. You do not need a solicitor to apply, and Winston Solicitors has no involvement in deciding whether support is awarded.
Our role is helping survivors understand and prepare for the Church of England Redress Scheme.
While the scheme has not yet opened, we can explain how it is expected to work, answer your questions and help you understand what the application process is likely to involve, so that you can make informed decisions in your own time.
If your future Redress Scheme application is successful, the scheme provides funding for legal advice separately from your award. We've explained that in more detail on our legal costs page.
“People ring me worried that accepting help now will somehow count against them later, and I can give them a straight answer, because Synod dealt with it,” says Stacey Flegg, Head of Church of England Redress Scheme at Winston Solicitors. “The amendment passed in July 2025 was there precisely so that interim financial awards will not be offset against redress awards. So my honest advice is this. If you are in urgent need now, the interim scheme exists for exactly that, it is free, and you do not need me or any other solicitor to use it. Where a solicitor earns their place is the Redress Scheme itself: understanding how Schedule 1 will value your case, what the application will ask of you, and being ready when it opens. Those are two different jobs, and you deserve someone who is honest about which one a solicitor is actually for.”
Support that is Independent of Any Claim
If you want to talk to someone right now, separately from any scheme or any decision, the following organisations are there for that. They are independent of Winston Solicitors and independent of the Church of England.
- Samaritans. Free, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Call 116 123 from any phone in the UK, or email jo@samaritans.org. Alternatively, you can go to.
- NAPAC, the National Association for People Abused in Childhood. Free support line for adult survivors of any form of childhood abuse. Call 0808 801 0331 or visit.
- Safe Spaces. The Church of England and Catholic Church’s joint independent support service for survivors of church-related abuse. Confidential, and run independently of the Church’s own processes. Call 0300 303 1056 or visit.
You do not need to be considering an application to either scheme to use any of these services. They are there because the harm matters, whether or not you ever take a formal step.
While You Wait
Whatever you decide about interim support, you do not have to decide anything about redress today. The Redress Scheme has not opened, no queue is forming that you are missing, and preparing can be as light as reading these pages at your own pace.
When you do want to talk any of it through, Stacey Flegg, Head of Church of England Redress Scheme at Winston Solicitors, will speak with you in your own time. The first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. Winston Solicitors works with survivors of Church-related abuse from across England and Wales, with over 4,000 five-star reviews across the firm’s wider work, and the team’s focus on the scheme itself is why Stacey can give you an honest read on where you stand before you decide on anything.
Reviewed by Stacey Flegg, Head of Church of England Redress Scheme at Winston Solicitors. Last reviewed: 5 July 2026.
No.
You apply directly to the Church using the form on its website, there is no legal test to prepare for, and no fee to pay If you later want help with the Redress Scheme itself, that is the point at which Winston Solicitors comes in, for survivors across England and Wales.
Not abruptly.
The Church has said in its scheme update of 19 March 2026 that support already in place can be extended to 1 October 2027, a year beyond the closing date for new applications, and that everyone currently receiving support has been told individually by the scheme’s team. If you have not heard anything, contact the ISS team through the Church’s website.
You can, and eligibility is assessed on the information available. Be aware that the scheme itself is not able to respond to safeguarding concerns or allegations being made for the first time, and in line with national guidance it makes sure all concerns are known to diocesan safeguarding teams, so a first disclosure will not stay with the scheme alone. If telling someone for the first time feels like too big a step, Safe Spaces, listed in the support section below, can help you think it through first, confidentially and independently.
The scheme treats what you share as confidential, with two exceptions it states openly: safeguarding concerns are shared with diocesan safeguarding teams in line with national practice guidance, and information may be shared with statutory agencies if the scheme believes you are at risk of harm. The scheme publishes an applicants’ privacy notice on the Church’s website with the full detail.
A new survivor support fund, launching when the interim scheme closes, with the same focus on immediate, short-term help. Aspects of it are being co-produced with victims and survivors, and the Church has said publicly, in its scheme update of 19 March 2026, that there will be no gaps in the support offered. Beyond that, details had not been published when this page was last reviewed.
Winston Solicitors also tracks every stage on our Redress Scheme hub, wherever in the UK or abroad you are reading from.
Register your interest
Alternatively, you can register at redresscofe.org, the notification service run by Kennedys, the independent law firm appointed to administer the Redress Scheme. The Church has said email addresses registered there are not shared with the Church.
No.
The two schemes are entirely independent: you do not need to have applied for interim support, and choosing not to use it changes nothing about a future redress application. The interim scheme exists for urgent need now, so if you are not in urgent need, you lose nothing by simply waiting for the Redress Scheme to open.
