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Child safeguarding has been a priority issue for the government and regulators in recent years.
As well as moving up the political agenda, there has been a shift in public attitudes, with a broader understanding and acknowledgement towards the victims of abuse and exploitation. Safeguarding and protection is widely discussed. Media interest continues to press for answers and solutions.
This heightened focus has resulted in new and proposed changes to policy, regulations and legislation. As a result of numerous consultations, inquiries, reports and audits, there have been several developments which will impact all aspects of the public sector.
Here, we highlight the key developments following the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
Background
In October 2022, the IICSA published its final report setting out 20 recommendations to protect future generations of children from sexual abuse.
The inquiry, led by Professor Alexis Jay OBE concluded that systemic failures across public services had contributed to abuse being undetected and unchallenged. Since winning the election in 2024, the Labour government has now begun to translate IICSA’S recommendations into concrete reform proposals, which if implemented promise significant implications for child protection, civil justice, and the legal landscape for survivors of abuse.
National Child Protection Authority – Recommendation 2
IICSA recommended an independent body with powers to inspect any institution associated with children. Over time, this body would become a ‘centre of expertise’ to improve child protection, by providing advice and recommendations to government on policy and reform.
On 11 December 2025, the government unveiled plans for a Child Protection Authority (CPA) in England and Wales, led by the Department for Education. It will provide national oversight to address fragmentation in safeguarding intelligence, data and lessons learned from serious cases. The CPA is envisaged to make multi-agency child protection clearer and more unified; bringing together insights from local authorities, health, police, social care and inspection bodies to improve outcomes for children, and stronger accountability.
Frontline enforcement (especially criminal investigation and prosecution) will remain with the police and prosecutors, but the CPA is expected to work closely with and support existing inspectorates (which may include Ofsted and the CQC) to drive improvements in multi-agency practice.
The government’s consultation on establishing the CPA runs until 5 March 2026, inviting input from practitioners, safeguarding partners, civil society organisations and families affected by abuse.
Mandatory reporting – Recommendation 13
The Crime and Policing Bill 2025 proposed a new mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse, including suspected abuse, for individuals working with children. This was intended to proactively improve child protection, a key recommendation of IICSA.
The sanctions for failure to report include referral to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) who will assess the person’s suitability to work or volunteer with children. A new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report, with penalties of up to seven years imprisonment are proposed.
These changes mark a significant step towards embedding safeguarding responsibilities into law and practice.
The bill is still going through the parliamentary process, now at Committee Stage in the House of Lords.
Limitation law reform – Recommendation 15
Responding directly to IICSA’s recommendation, the government has announced plans to introduce legislation to remove the three-year limitation period for personal injury claims arising from child sexual abuse.
Alongside this, the burden of proof on limitation issues will shift: rather than the claimant having to establish that a fair trial can still proceed, this responsibility will fall to the defendant to show that proceeding would be fundamentally unfair. This mirrors changes already enacted in Scotland.
These reforms require primary legislation to be fully implemented, and are included in the Crime and Policing Bill 2025.
Age verification- Recommendation 20
In response to the growing role of social media in facilitating sexual abuse, exploitation of children, exposure to harmful and explicit material, and in facilitating grooming; the inquiry recommended that the UK government introduce legislation requiring providers of online services and social media platforms to implement more stringent age verification measures.
The Online Safety Act’s child safety measures became mandatory on 25th July 2025; provisions on online harms and age checks are directly relevant to IICSA’s recommendation and represent a significant response to these concerns.
The Act imposes new duties on regulated online services to assess and mitigate risks to children, including preventing access to illegal and harmful content. It introduces age verification or age-assurance measures in relation to pornographic material to block access to adult pornography and other age-inappropriate material and to require evidence-based verification rather than simple date-of-birth declarations. Ofcom has a new enforcement role intended to strengthen accountability in this digital space.
Comment
Since the IICSA report, government policy in England and Wales has shifted towards implementing fundamental reforms in child protection. The proposed Child Protection Authority, mandatory reporting duties, amendments to the Limitation Act and the Online Safety Act, recognise shortcomings highlighted by the Inquiry.
While these reforms mark clear progress on IICSA’s recommendations, they also raise questions about scope, implementation and effectiveness. For example:
- How broad will the Child Protection Authority’s powers extend in practice, and how will it balance oversight with local autonomy?
- How will courts interpret the new limitation regime and fair hearing protections?
- How effectively will duties on tech providers as prescribed by the Online Safety Bill be enforced and will they work in practice to deliver the stronger age verification and broader protections envisaged by IICSA, particularly in relation to grooming?
- Is further reform, including for example a national redress scheme essential to fully deliver on the spirit of IICSA’s report?
Whether these reforms will deliver structural improvements will depend on robust and well thought out implementation, multi-agency cooperation, and ongoing engagement with survivors and safeguarding professionals.
We will continue to track developments in this area and will provide regular updates.
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United Kingdom