Scotland’s Redress Scheme: contributor list

The Charity Trustees of the Church of Scotland (the Unincorporated Entities), (Scottish Charity No SC011353), including the Church of Scotland Social Care Council (also known as Crossreach) and its predecessors in connection with the relevant care settings operated on behalf of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland by CrossReach

The Charity Trustees of the Church of Scotland (the Unincorporated Entities), an unincorporated body constituted by authority of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and operating as the “Assembly Trustees” at:
21 George Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4YN

Date added to contributor list

24 October 2022

Date removed from contributor list (if relevant): N/A
Removal with retrospective effect (yes/no): N/A

Commitment made

Pay agreed proportion of all determined cases where relevant as a place of abuse up to the maximum agreed figure of £2,000,000.

Acknowledgment letter

The Church of Scotland has a long tradition of providing residential care services, and has been actively supporting children and their families in this way since 1868 as one of the largest voluntary sector providers of social care in Scotland.

While many children who were cared for have gone on to thrive, we now know that there were a small number of Children’s Homes, for which the Church of Scotland was responsible, where abuse happened. Children who should have been offered protection were, instead, harmed.

This is a matter of profound sadness for the Church of Scotland and one on which we have reflected deeply. As part of our desire to better understand the situations in which abuse occurred and the effect it has had on those who were abused, we have played a part in the National Confidential Forum and commissioned an independent review of practice so that our children’s services, run under CrossReach today, are as safe as possible for those for whom they care. We have also offered a full and sincere apology to all harmed in our care in the past, and have sought to make reparation in a number of different ways.

We believe that participation in the Redress scheme gives us further opportunity to acknowledge the abuse that has occurred and to help recompense those who have been forced to live with the consequences. We welcome the scheme and all that it represents for survivors.

Our contribution is freely offered as part of a national collective endeavour to right the wrongs of the past and comes, once more, with a genuine and heartfelt apology to all affected. We will continue to work with the Redress Scheme to identify any other areas where we can support survivors harmed in our care.

Yours sincerely
Rev Thom Riddell
Convener of the CrossReach Board