Common questions

No. 

Winston Solicitors does not take any percentage of your award. Our fees are paid separately by the Archbishops’ Council, on a track that does not touch your compensation. The phrase “no win no fee” is the wrong description of how the scheme works. “You pay nothing, whatever the outcome” is closer to the truth.

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. 

The most useful next step is usually two conversations, in this order: a free conversation with Winston Solicitors about the scheme route, and a separate conversation with an independent specialist civil claims solicitor about the civil route. Two views, no pressure, then you decide. You can also walk through the Church of England Redress Scheme compensation calculator privately first. It asks for no contact details, keeps no record, and runs entirely in your browser.

The scheme decides on the balance of probability, meaning more likely than not, and it is built to work with the kinds of record this abuse actually leaves. GP or counselling notes, school or parish records, letters or diaries from the time, and statements from anyone you told can all help, and having none of them does not stop you applying. Our evidence page explains what helps and how it is gathered.

Under a civil claim, the solicitor’s fees and other costs usually come out of your settlement before the rest reaches you. Under the redress scheme, your solicitor’s fees are paid separately by the Archbishops’ Council and your award reaches you in full. The wider comparison between the two routes, with the independent specialist signpost for the civil route, is at scheme versus civil claim.

A traditional no-win-no-fee deal, a conditional fee agreement or CFA, means the solicitor takes nothing if you lose and an agreed slice of your award if you win. Under the Church of England Redress Scheme there is no CFA. The Archbishops’ Council pays the lawyers’ fees separately, whatever the outcome, under Section 23 of the Abuse Redress Measure. You pay nothing either way, and the full award reaches you when the claim succeeds.

The Church of England Redress Scheme runs for five years from the day it opens, under Section 7(2) of the Abuse Redress Measure 2025. The General Synod can extend that period. The real deadline for new applications falls earlier, at the start of the final nine months, under Rule 4 of the Abuse Redress Rules 2025.

The Church of England Redress Scheme runs for five years from the day it opens, under Section 7(2) of the Abuse Redress Measure 2025. The General Synod can extend that period. The real deadline for new applications falls earlier, at the start of the final nine months, under Rule 4 of the Abuse Redress Rules 2025.

There are no timescales currently provided in relation to the Scheme. The intention is to deal with all survivors as individuals rather than push claims through a process.

In the first instance the Scheme will run for 5 years. This is to be reviewed part way through the process, so it may be extended.

If you register your interest, we will contact you as soon as applications open. We are a specialist scheme practice, focused specifically on the Church of England redress scheme and fluent in the Rules and the assessment framework, so we can move quickly for you on day one.

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.

Yes.

An application goes to the redress body, not to your parish, and nothing in the scheme requires you to leave your congregation, confront anyone in it, or announce what you are doing. Winston Solicitors handles every conversation and every application confidentially.

Yes. 

Many survivors come forward for the first time decades later, and the scheme was designed with that in mind. Your first conversation is confidential, in your own time, and at no charge. You decide what you share, and when.

Yes. Many survivors come forward for the first time decades later, and the scheme was designed with that in mind. Your first conversation is confidential, in your own time, and at no charge. You decide what you share, and when.

Yes, in your favour. Being under 18 when the abuse happened is treated as a reason your starting figure can go up under Schedule 1. The detail lives at childhood abuse and the Church of England Redress Scheme.

Yes, in your favour. Being under 18 when the abuse happened is treated as a reason your starting figure can go up under Schedule 1. The detail lives at childhood abuse and the Church of England Redress Scheme.

Yes, if you were living together as though married, or in a relationship with the other characteristics of a marriage or civil partnership, immediately before the death. The Measure’s definition of surviving partner was written to include exactly this situation, not only spouses and civil partners.

That time limit comes from the Limitation Act 1980, and it applies to claims brought through the courts. It does not apply to the Church of England Redress Scheme. Many survivors who were refused in the courts because of the time limit can now apply under this scheme. If you do want to look at the court route as well, you would need an independent specialist civil claims solicitor, and the comparison lives at the Church of England Redress Scheme compared with a civil claim.

That time limit comes from the Limitation Act 1980, and it applies to claims brought through the courts. It does not apply to the Church of England Redress Scheme. Many survivors who were refused in the courts because of the time limit can now apply under this scheme. If you do want to look at the court route as well, you would need an independent specialist civil claims solicitor, and the comparison lives at the Church of England Redress Scheme compared with a civil claim.

That ruling was about the civil courts and the Limitation Act 1980. It does not apply to the Church of England Redress Scheme time limits. Many survivors who were turned away on time grounds in the civil courts can now apply under this scheme, because the test in Section 3 of the Measure has no time limit on the date of the abuse. The full read on this lives at /historic-abuse.

That ruling was about the civil courts and the Limitation Act 1980. It does not apply to the Church of England Redress Scheme time limits. Many survivors who were turned away on time grounds in the civil courts can now apply under this scheme, because the test in Section 3 of the Measure has no time limit on the date of the abuse. The full read on this lives at /historic-abuse.

Yes.

You do not need to have reached a conclusion before speaking to a solicitor. If you are unsure whether your experience falls within the scheme, the first conversation is an opportunity to ask questions without any obligation to proceed.

You should speak to an independent specialist civil claims solicitor with specific civil litigation experience in clergy abuse cases. Winston Solicitors does not advise on civil claims in this area, so we cannot do that work for you. We will say so clearly at your first conversation rather than steering you down a route we are not best placed to advise on.