Make failure to report a child’s disclosure of abuse or harm a criminal offence

Summary

We call on the Government to make it a criminal offence for professionals working with children to fail to report a child’s disclosure of abuse, assault, neglect or other criminal harm. With no legal duty to record or report disclosures, concerns may go unreported without independent oversight. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 creates a duty to report child sexual abuse, but it does not cover physical assault, neglect or wider criminal harm, and it introduces no criminal penalty for failing to act. There is currently no legal duty to record or report a child’s disclosure, meaning some families only become aware of unreported concerns when later accessing records. We think this should be called Luke’s Law.

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Timeline

1. 9 May 2026

   Petition

   We call on the Government to make it a criminal offence for professionals working with children to fail to report a child’s disclosure of abuse, assault, neglect or other criminal harm. With no legal duty to record or report disclosures, concerns may go unreported without independent oversight. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 creates a duty to report child sexual abuse, but it does not cover physical assault, neglect or wider criminal harm, and it introduces no criminal penalty for failing to act. There is currently no legal duty to record or report a child’s disclosure, meaning some families only become aware of unreported concerns when later accessing records. We think this should be called Luke’s Law.

   Source: Petition

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