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	Church Child Policies Probe Set up Lancashire Evening Post December 23, 2011 http://www.lep.co.uk/news/national/church_child_policies_probe_set_up_1_4086017 The Archbishop of Canterbury has set up an inquiry into child protection policies in the Diocese of Chichester in West Sussex, it was announced. Lambeth Palace said the inquiry had been launched "in response to concerns within the diocese" but declined to expand on the background to the fears. Current child protection arrangements within the diocese will be scrutinised during the investigation and recommendations for the future will be made. Dr Rowan Williams has appointed Bishop John Gladwin and Chancellor Rupert Bursell QC to conduct the inquiry, which Lambeth Palace said had the backing of Bishop of Chichester, the Rt Revd Dr John Hind. In July, it was announced that father-of-three Dr Hind will retire next April after 11 years as the 102nd Bishop of Chichester, having taken over in 2001 from Bishop Eric Kemp. In a statement, Lambeth Palace said: "The Archbishop of Canterbury today set up an inquiry into the operation of the diocesan child protection policies in the Diocese of Chichester. He has appointed Bishop John Gladwin and Chancellor Rupert Bursell QC to carry out the inquiry. "They will advise the Archbishop on any steps that need to be taken to ensure the highest possible standards of safeguarding in the diocese. This will involve examining current child protection arrangements as well as making recommendations for the future. They will make a preliminary report to the Archbishop by the end of February 2012." A spokeswoman for Lambeth Palace - the London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury since the 13th Century - refused to say whether the concerns related to current or historic child protection issues. In May, a review found serious failings in the senior clergy after two priests were allowed to continue working despite being accused of serious child abuse offences. Collin Pritchard was the vicar of St Barnabas, in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, until 2007, despite having been first reported to police for sex offences 10 years earlier. He was later jailed for sexually abusing two young boys. One of the boys was also abused by Roy Cotton, who worked as a parish priest in Brede near Rye, but prosecutors decided there was not enough evidence to charge him before he died in September 2006.
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