Serious Incident Reporting

All PCCs, DBFs and most religious communities are charities and their trustees are required to report any serious incidents, both safeguarding and non-safeguarding, to the Charity Commission.

Non-safeguarding Serious Incidents (actual or alleged adverse incidents, which result in or risk loss of the PCC’s money or assets, damage to its property or harm to its work or reputation) are reported directly to the Charity Commission by the PCC using the guidance and template on the parish resources website.

Safeguarding Serious Incidents (an adverse event, whether actual or alleged, which results in or risks significant harm to the charity’s beneficiaries, employees, office holders, volunteers or to others who come into contact with the charity through its work. This includes where there are allegations or incidents of abuse of or risks to beneficiaries or others connected with the charity’s activities) are reported to the Charity Commission by the diocese.

The parish website (see link above) contains guidance, templates and frequently asked questions for PCCs and Diocesan Boards of Finance about the recording and reporting of serious incidents.

The Diocese of Truro have created a flowchart to explain the reporting of serious safeguarding incidents. This can be found in the resources section below.