The Church of England's National Redress Scheme has been a long time coming. Draft legislation cleared General Synod in July 2025, the Church has committed more than £150 million to fund it, and the scheme is expected to open to survivors later in 2026, once the remaining parliamentary and administrative steps are complete. For legal teams preparing to support claimants, that means the window to build a reliable, verified pipeline of leads is now.

Where the scheme stands

The scheme will be administered independently by Kennedys, with oversight from the Church of England, and is expected to run for five years, through to autumn 2029. It follows a two-stage structure: an initial award reflecting the type and category of abuse, with the option to apply for a further award where appropriate. Compensation is expected to range from £5,000 up to £660,000 depending on the circumstances of the claim.

What this means for claim volume

Redress schemes of this scale typically produce a steady, sustained flow of enquiries rather than a single spike, particularly in the months immediately after launch when awareness is highest. Firms that have already built relationships with genuinely interested, informed claimants before the scheme opens will be best placed to support them through the process.

What "verified" means for a claim type like this

Claims relating to Church of England redress sit in a different category to commercial mis-selling claims. The individuals behind them are often approaching a legal team at a difficult and sensitive point, which makes verified, opt-in consent even more important, not less. A genuine lead here is someone who has actively and knowingly requested to be contacted about their specific situation, not a name pulled from a broader data set.

That distinction shapes everything about how we intend to build this product line: informed consent captured at the point of interest, real-time delivery so the enquiry is current, and full visibility over how that consent was captured and can be evidenced.

How we're building this in from the start

This is the same framework behind every product we offer, and it applies here in full. Consent, evidence and transparency are engineered around compliance from day one, not bolted on once a scheme is live. As the redress scheme opens and firms begin taking on claims, we'll be applying that same standard to this product line.