Currently the Scheme guidance suggests if a claim has been started, and a person then dies, that it can be continued by their relatives.

A sibling cannot; brothers and sisters are not in the Section 6 list. A grandchild normally cannot either, but there is one exception: if the person who died had parental responsibility for the grandchild, the grandchild counts as a dependant child. If your family’s shape does not fit the standard categories, ask before assuming the answer is no.

Yes. You can provide further material while your application is being determined, and the redress body can request more from you or from others as it goes. If significant new information comes to light after a decision, the Measure allows the application to be reconsidered, explained on our how the scheme works page.

Yes, within the scheme. Section 11(6) of the Abuse Redress Measure preserves your right of appeal under Section 12 and your right to reconsideration under Section 15 if new information comes to light. Those routes sit inside the scheme, alongside the waiver. The civil route closes when an award is made and accepted. So if you want to challenge a scheme outcome, the appeal sits within the scheme. If you want to challenge anything in the civil courts, that decision has to be made before you accept.

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.

Yes.

Many people contact us before speaking to family or friends. The first conversation is confidential, and you only share what you feel comfortable discussing.

Yes. Many survivors never told anyone for years, sometimes for decades, and the scheme is built with that in mind. You do not need a report, a witness, or a record from the time to apply. Winston Solicitors can talk you through what your own account and any surrounding evidence might look like to the scheme.

Yes. You can prepare in your own time, seek independent support now, and register your interest so we can tell you when the scheme opens. You do not need a police report or a criminal conviction, and there is no application to file until the scheme is live.

No. Once the scheme makes an award on your application, your right to bring a civil claim for the same abuse is automatically waived under Section 11(1) of the Abuse Redress Measure. You can still apply to the scheme without committing, because the waiver only bites when an award is made and accepted, not when you apply. If you want to keep the civil route open while you weigh things up, take civil advice before you accept any scheme offer.

Of course.

Many enquiries come from partners, relatives or close friends who are trying to understand the scheme before the survivor feels ready. We are happy to explain how the process works without putting anyone under pressure to make an application.

Yes. Many people read pages like this for someone they care about before that person is ready to. The scheme allows third parties to make initial enquiries. Winston Solicitors can talk you through how to support someone who may eventually want to apply, without putting any pressure on them.

Very possibly. There is no time limit on when the abuse itself took place, so historic abuse from many years ago can still fall within the scheme. There is a window for making the application itself, which we explain on our time limits page.

The Measure does not restrict a dependant application to one person. A surviving partner, a dependant child, and a dependant parent could each apply, and each would need to meet the definition and show their own injury or loss. Where an existing application is being continued after a death, two or more surviving children can act jointly. Winston Solicitors can help a family work out who is best placed to act.

A surviving child, partner or parent may be able to make a claim under the Scheme when someone who suffered abuse has since died. This will only be considered under exceptional circumstances. An example of an exceptional circumstance would be when a person has taken their own life as a result of the abuse.

The whole five-year window can be extended if the General Synod passes a resolution to do so, under Section 7(2)(b) of the Measure. If that happens, the same “first day of the final nine months” rule applies to the longer window. There is no personal extension for a late application. The deadline belongs to the scheme, not to you as an individual.

What you share in support of your own application is your choice, and your solicitor will discuss with you whether records such as counselling notes would help before anything is requested. A notice requiring anyone else, such as a health body or counselling service, to hand over material has no effect where complying would breach data protection law (Section 26(6), Abuse Redress Measure 2025).

No.

Nothing in Rule 2(5) requires you to have lost your faith. Harm to your spiritual well-being can include a faith you still hold that was damaged, just as much as a faith that was destroyed.

You can make a claim whether you currently live in the UK or not.

No.

If you decide partway through that you do not want to continue, you can withdraw without owing Winston Solicitors a penny. The funding model means there is no clawback against you in any situation. The work we have done up to that point is settled with the scheme, not with you.

No. If you decide partway through that you do not want to carry on, you can stop without owing Winston Solicitors a penny. There is no clawback against you in any situation. The work the firm has done up to that point is settled with the scheme, not with you.

There is no requirement under the scheme for a person to report abuse to the police.

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.

No. Nothing in the Measure or the Rules requires a diagnosis, and you can apply without ever having seen a doctor or counsellor about what happened. Many people never sought help at the time, often because the person who abused them made sure they would not, and that does not count against them.