A Bill to mandate those providing and carrying out regulated or other activities with responsibility for the care of children to report known and suspected child sexual abuse; to protect mandated reporters from detriment; to create a criminal offence of failing to report prescribed concerns; and for connected purposes.
House of Lords
20 January 2025
May contain errors — check source documents for definitive information.
The bill would require anyone providing or running regulated activities with children to report known or suspected child sexual abuse to the local authority within seven days, and to do so in writing. It creates offences for failing to report or trying to deter reporters, and lets the Secretary of State add or remove activities covered by regulation; it applies to England and Wales and would take effect nine months after passage.
The Lords bill has progressed from first to second reading and is now in Committee stage. The public document trail confirms the core framework and the Secretary of State’s regulation-making power but does not publish specific amendments; committee scrutiny will consider changes to scope, reporting process, or penalties.
Generated 21 February 2026
29 Jul 2024
17 Jan 2025
Second reading - the general debate on all aspects of the bill - took place on 17 January.
What happens next?
Committee stage - line by line examination of the bill - is yet to be scheduled.
The Bill imposes a mandatory reporting duty for known or suspected child sexual abuse by staff and organisations that work with children, requiring reports to be made to the local authority’s designated contact and confirmed in writing within seven days. It defines who must report, extends the duty to a wide range of settings and providers, and creates offences and fines for failing to report or for trying to deter reporters, with safeguards for confidentiality. The Secretary of State can add or remove activities from the list by regulation; the measure applies to England and Wales and comes into force nine months after passage.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
