The Archbishops’ Council has appointed Felicity Mitchell as Interim Non-Executive Chair of the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board with immediate effect.
Felicity is a qualified barrister who has worked for many years in the ombuds sector. She has served on the Programme Board since September 2025, having joined the Programme in July 2025. She has played a central role in supporting the vision for safeguarding reform, and more recently the design of a new independent safeguarding authority. In addition, she has advised the programme on a new unified safeguarding complaints process featuring local resolution and access to an independent safeguarding complaints body.
Members of the Archbishops’ Council and the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board have welcomed Felicity’s appointment and the continuity she provides for the programme.
Alison Coulter, Chair of the Archbishops’ Council, said: “Felicity brings exceptional experience and expertise to the programme and her appointment is warmly welcomed by members of the Programme Board. As we now move into the detailed implementation phase for the programme, her leadership will help to ensure reform is delivered effectively.”
Felicity Mitchell said: “I am pleased to have been invited to lead the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board. As a Christian, I want to see the Church flourishing as a safe, welcoming and loving community. I believe we have in place the firm foundations upon which we can deliver lasting, positive change.”
Felicity follows Dame Christine Ryan, whose strategic vision presented to General Synod in February 2026 formed the basis of the development work over the past 12 months. Drawing on proposals developed independently by the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board, the Archbishops’ Council has approved the national rollout of a new complaints process and a detailed operating design for new safeguarding structures, including plans for an independent safeguarding authority to oversee Church safeguarding.
This autumn stakeholders will have opportunities to consider aspects of the detailed operating design, engage with the programme team, and meet the new Interim Chair.
Implementation of new safeguarding arrangements will happen in phases and will prioritise stability over speed to protect frontline capacity. The practical changes will be evaluated in real-world conditions and are likely to inform further refinements to the design over time. This iterative process will help to ensure that future legislation to make the arrangements mandatory is built on proven, robust practice.
Key implementation milestones:
- Late 2026: National rollout of a voluntary, unified complaints process, including access to an independent safeguarding complaints body.
- 2027: Legal establishment of the new independent safeguarding authority, leadership appointments, and implementation of initial scrutiny functions.
- 2028: Complete transfer of national safeguarding staff and operational functions, underpinned by new legislation.
More about Felicity Mitchell
Felicity qualified as a barrister and is currently an independent consultant working mainly in the ombudsman sector. From 2018 to 2023, she was Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education at the OIA, the ombuds scheme for higher education students in England and Wales. As Independent Adjudicator, Felicity led the OIA’s case-handling and outreach functions, including the development of the Good Practice Framework. She worked at the OIA for 19 years in various case-handling roles.
Felicity joined the Church of England Safeguarding Structures Programme in July 2025, joining the Programme Board in October 2025. She has co-chaired the Programme’s Policy and Assurance Advisory Group.
Felicity sits on the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales’ Advisory Panel, a non-statutory forum whose main role is to support the Ombudsman in providing leadership and good governance. She is the Independent Reviewer of Service Complaints for the Housing Ombudsman. She is an external member of the Academic Board of the University of Law.
Felicity is an active member of her local parish church, a trustee of a charity supporting women to become entrepreneurs in Uganda, and she volunteers for a local debt counselling charity.