Members of the Church of England’s parliament have voted for more independent oversight of the way it handles abuse allegations.

The Church of England on Tuesday prepared to vote on overhauling its safeguarding system to make it independent, seeking to restore confidence following several failures in dealing with abuse. The Church's ruling body - the General Synod - was set to vote on two different safeguarding models at a meeting in London,

The Church of England has voted to increase oversight of abuse complaints - but safeguarding will not be fully independent.

The Church of England on Tuesday will take the first step towards overhauling its safeguarding system to make it independent of the religious institution, seeking to restore confidence following several failures on dealing with abuse.

The Church of England's governing body has rejected a fully independent safeguarding model to deal with abuse cases. Synod members instead adopted an alternative proposal described as a "way forward in the short term" ahead of a move to full independence in the future.

It was a view, echoed by Rt Rev Joanne Grenfell, the Lead Bishop for Safeguarding, who told reporters, "We have missed the opportunity to say unequivocally to victims and survivors today that we hear their concerns about trust and confidence in the Church."

The Church of England on Tuesday stopped short of backing a fully independent safeguarding model to deal with abuse cases, voting instead for an alternative option that critics say does not go far enough to quell public alarm over several past scandals.

There was a sense in the chamber that the Church of England has finally recognised the seriousness of the harm that has been done to those whose cries for help have been ignored.