Media
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Kaizen Safeguarding has today published a Position Statement expressing concern that the increasing number of safeguarding reviews relating to Jeffrey Donaldson and associated organisations risks creating fragmented learning, inconsistent findings and unnecessary complexity for victims and survivors.
The independent safeguarding consultancy says that while every organisation has a responsibility to review its own safeguarding arrangements, multiple parallel reviews operating with different remits inevitably raise questions about governance, coordination, evidence sharing and public confidence.
Kaizen Safeguarding has also expressed support for the principles outlined by the Northern Ireland Survivor Council regarding independence, survivor involvement and trauma-informed practice.
Director Leigh McFarlane said:
"Victims and survivors deserve safeguarding review processes that are independent, transparent, survivor-informed, trauma-informed and beyond reproach. Safeguarding reviews exist for a clear purpose: to establish the truth, identify learning, strengthen safeguarding practice and restore confidence.
Where multiple reviews are examining interconnected issues, every effort should be made to ensure those processes complement one another, minimise unnecessary burden on victims and survivors, and inspire public confidence through openness, independence and meaningful survivor involvement from the very outset."
Kaizen Safeguarding believes there is now a compelling case for the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government to consider whether a single independent inquiry, with meaningful survivor involvement and appropriate powers, would better serve victims, survivors and the wider public than multiple separate review processes.
The full Kaizen Safeguarding Position Statement is available at
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Notes to Editors
About Kaizen Safeguarding
Kaizen Safeguarding is an independent safeguarding consultancy providing expert training, specialist consultancy and independent safeguarding services across Northern Ireland, the UK, Ireland and internationally. We work with survivors and organisations helping to strengthen safeguarding culture, governance and practice through evidence-informed, trauma-informed and survivor-centred approaches.
Our services include safeguarding reviews, independent investigations, safeguarding audits, policy development, leadership consultancy, supervision, and professional training, supporting organisations to create safer environments and respond effectively to safeguarding concerns.
Media Enquiries
All media enquiries relating to this statement should be directed to:
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Kaizen Safeguarding fully supports the principles set out by the Northern Ireland Survivor Council regarding the importance of safeguarding review processes that are demonstrably independent, trauma-informed, survivor-centred and capable of maintaining the confidence of victims, survivors and the wider public.¹
The announcement of multiple reviews arising from matters connected to Jeffrey Donaldson has highlighted a broader safeguarding issue that extends well beyond any single organisation. There are now separate reviews being undertaken or commissioned by the Democratic Unionist Party, the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission, the Ulster Unionist Party, and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, each operating with different remits, different governance arrangements and different objectives.²³⁴⁵
Every organisation has both the right and the responsibility to examine its own safeguarding arrangements where legitimate concerns arise. Such reviews are an important part of organisational accountability and learning. However, where three reviews are taking place simultaneously concerning the same individual, and where there are publicly identified overlaps between one of these reviews and the Presbyterian Church in Ireland review; and therefore potentially overlapping safeguarding issues, it is entirely appropriate to ask whether the current approach best serves victims and survivors, public confidence and the wider objective of learning.
From a safeguarding governance perspective, multiple parallel reviews inevitably give rise to important questions. These include how information will be shared where safeguarding issues overlap; how evidence relating to similar events will be managed across different review processes; whether victims and survivors may be asked to engage with more than one review; how differing findings or recommendations will be reconciled; and whether lessons identified by one review will be visible to another.
These are not criticisms of any individual review. Rather, they are recognised governance considerations whenever safeguarding issues extend across organisational boundaries.
Kaizen Safeguarding also fully supports the concerns raised publicly by the Northern Ireland Survivor Council regarding the appointment of the same safeguarding organisation to undertake both the Democratic Unionist Party and Presbyterian Church in Ireland safeguarding reviews.¹
Public confidence in safeguarding reviews depends not only upon actual independence, but upon independence being clearly visible. Where the same organisation is conducting two significant reviews involving interconnected safeguarding issues, it is understandable that questions may arise regarding governance, coordination, perceived independence and public confidence. Those questions deserve careful and transparent consideration.
Equally important is the manner in which safeguarding reviews are designed. Modern safeguarding practice increasingly recognises that victims and survivors should not simply be participants within a review process but partners in helping shape it. Meaningful co-production with survivors and representative survivor organisations at the earliest stages of review design should be regarded as a cornerstone of best safeguarding practice. It strengthens legitimacy, improves the quality of review processes, helps ensure that reviews are genuinely trauma-informed and increases confidence that the issues most important to victims and survivors are properly considered.
From the information currently published, relatively little is known about the extent to which survivor co-production has informed the design of these reviews, how duplication of survivor engagement will be avoided where reviews overlap, or what arrangements exist to minimise unnecessary distress for individuals whose experiences may fall within the scope of more than one review.
These are important questions, not simply for those conducting the reviews, but for every organisation committed to delivering safeguarding processes that are genuinely survivor-centred.
Safeguarding reviews should also demonstrate transparency around their governance arrangements. This includes clear terms of reference, transparent commissioning processes, effective management of actual or perceived conflicts of interest, robust quality assurance, and clarity regarding how evidence will be handled where different reviews may touch upon similar events or information.
Taken together, the emergence of multiple independent reviews suggests that the issues now extend beyond the safeguarding responsibilities of any single organisation. The question is no longer solely how individual organisations respond to historic safeguarding concerns. It is increasingly about how Northern Ireland responds when safeguarding issues cut across political parties, faith organisations and public institutions simultaneously, each commissioning separate reviews with different remits, different powers and different reporting arrangements.
From a safeguarding perspective, this creates a genuine risk of fragmented learning, inconsistent recommendations, duplication of effort and unnecessary complexity for victims and survivors. It also creates understandable uncertainty about how broader systemic learning will ultimately be brought together.
Kaizen Safeguarding therefore believes there is now a compelling case for the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government to give serious consideration to whether the public interest would be better served through a single, fully independent inquiry with appropriate powers, clear governance arrangements, meaningful survivor involvement and the ability to examine safeguarding issues across organisational boundaries.
Such an approach would not replace the responsibility of individual organisations to learn from their own safeguarding arrangements. Rather, it would provide an opportunity to identify wider systemic lessons, improve consistency, strengthen public confidence and ensure that victims and survivors are not required to navigate multiple disconnected review processes.
Leigh McFarlane, Director of Kaizen Safeguarding, said:
"Victims and survivors deserve safeguarding review processes that are independent, transparent, survivor-informed, trauma-informed and beyond reproach. Safeguarding reviews exist for a clear purpose: to establish the truth, identify learning, strengthen safeguarding practice and restore confidence.
Where multiple reviews are examining interconnected issues, every effort should be made to ensure those processes complement one another, minimise unnecessary burden on victims and survivors, and inspire public confidence through openness, independence and meaningful survivor involvement from the very outset. Ultimately, safeguarding is about far more than organisational accountability; it is about ensuring that victims and survivors are heard, respected and placed at the centre of every decision that affects them."
Kaizen Safeguarding believes these principles should remain at the heart of every safeguarding review currently underway in Northern Ireland.
Kaizen Safeguarding would also welcome the opportunity to engage constructively with the Northern Ireland Executive, the UK Government, review commissioners, survivor organisations and other stakeholders to help strengthen safeguarding review methodology, survivor participation and public confidence in future safeguarding reviews. We believe that safeguarding is best advanced through collaboration, transparency and a shared commitment to continual learning. Where opportunities exist to improve review processes and place victims and survivors more firmly at the centre of them, we stand ready to contribute our expertise and experience in support of that goal.
This statement reflects Kaizen Safeguarding's assessment of the published terms of reference, public statements and other information available at the time of publication. As further information becomes available, including additional terms of reference or governance documentation, we will continue to review and consider our position in light of that evidence.
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References
1. Northern Ireland Survivor Council. Public Statement regarding the Democratic Unionist Party and Presbyterian Church in Ireland safeguarding reviews. July 2026.
2. Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Governance and Safeguarding Review – Terms of Reference (Summary). July 2026.
3. Democratic Unionist Party. Statement: Democratic Unionist Party – Independent Focused Safeguarding Review. July 2026.
4. Northern Ireland Assembly Commission. Review of Alleged Abuse or Inappropriate Behaviour Associated with Jeffrey Donaldson in Parliament Buildings. July 2026.
5. The Newsletter. Jon Burrows calls on Prime Minister to launch proper inquiry into who knew what about Jeffery Donaldson’s behaviour. https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/jon-burrows-calls-on-prime-minister-to-launch-proper-inquiry-into-who-knew-what-about-jeffrey-donaldsons-behaviour-8768410. June 2026.
Notes to Editors
About Kaizen Safeguarding
Kaizen Safeguarding is an independent safeguarding consultancy providing expert training, specialist consultancy and independent safeguarding services across Northern Ireland, the UK, Ireland and internationally. We work with survivors and organisations helping to strengthen safeguarding culture, governance and practice through evidence-informed, trauma-informed and survivor-centred approaches.
Our services include safeguarding reviews, independent investigations, safeguarding audits, policy development, leadership consultancy, supervision, and professional training, supporting organisations to create safer environments and respond effectively to safeguarding concerns.
Media Enquiries
All media enquiries relating to this statement should be directed to:
Email: media@kaizensafeguarding.org