Launch a Public Inquiry into Grooming Gangs

A taskforce has helped arrest hundreds of offenders since 2023. We believe abuse is large scale and ongoing. Yet we think the authorities refuse to acknowledge the background and motivation of abusers, the failures of police, social workers and local councillors, and potential cover-ups.

In August 2014, a ground breaking report by former senior social worker Alexis Jay revealed that an estimated 1,400 children had been sexually exploited in Rotherham from 1997 to 2013, and the majority of known perpetrators were of Pakistani heritage. It revealed the failures of leadership and staff fears of being considered racist in identifying the ethnic origins of perpetrators.

We think only a full public inquiry can force overdue change.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse undertaken by former senior social worker Alexis Jay was a full national inquiry taking 7 years, which engaged over 7,000 victims and survivors, and had 15 separate strands, including a specific two-year inquiry into child sexual abuse by organised networks (or grooming gangs).

The Government is determined to act on its findings, working to protect more children from the horrors of grooming gangs and other forms of sexual abuse and exploitation, and to deliver justice for the victims of these appalling crimes. Full public inquiries can take years, while victims, survivors and experts, including Alexis Jay, have been clear that they want to see action now. That means protecting more children, finding more criminals, and getting justice for more victims and survivors.

Earlier this year, the Home Secretary announced a package of new measures and an investment of £10m that will allow us to do that, as well as drive change at a local level. The package includes the following:

• More support and empowerment for victims. We are expanding the Child Sexual Abuse Review Panel mandate to include crimes which took place after 2013. This means that survivors who feel let down and unheard can ask the Panel to review their closed case even if it happened after 2013.

• Baroness Louise Casey is leading a rapid audit of existing evidence on grooming gangs, examining existing data and evidence to uncover the true nature, scale and profile of group-based child sexual abuse offending being dealt with by forces in the UK today, including increasing our evidence base on the ethnicity of perpetrators; identifying gaps in existing knowledge; and making recommendations that can be applied both locally and nationally.

• A renewed examination of all cases by police forces in England and Wales. The NPCC, at the Home Office’s request, is asking forces to reexamine both live and non-recent cases where no further action was taken. Police will be asked to work with the Child Sexual Abuse Police Taskforce to pursue new possible lines of inquiry and reopen investigations where appropriate to deliver justice for more victims and put more vile perpetrators behind bars.

• An updated independent review of progress on the policing response to grooming gangs which the Home Secretary has commissioned from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services, following its December 2023 report.

• A new, Government-developed, framework for victim-centred, local led inquiries. As we have seen in the likes of Telford and Rotherham, effective local inquiries can provide detailed, context-specific insight and recommendations, driving real change at the local level, using a framework developed in collaboration with experts experienced in establishing and delivering such inquiries, informed by established best practice and tailored to the specific needs of each community.

• Stronger national backing for local inquiries, with the establishment of a £5m national fund for locally-led work to support both local areas which want to launch a full local independent inquiry, and those which want to deliver more bespoke work, e.g. through the establishment of local victims’ panels or conducting local-led audits into the handling of historic cases. This will enable more areas to conduct meaningful work to deliver the truth, justice and accountability that victims deserve.

• A new Victims and Survivors Panel to ensure victims’ voices remain at the heart of policy-making, not just on the recommendations of the Jay report, but on wider work around child sexual exploitation and abuse.

• Introducing a Duty of Candour, which will strengthen the accountability mechanisms underpinning local inquiries, to ensure that those who are complicit in cover-ups or who try to resist scrutiny are always robustly held to account, and that truth and justice are never denied.

• A new mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse, a key recommendation from Alexis Jay’s report.

These measures are set against a backdrop of continued investment in other work to strengthen law enforcement capacity and capability to tackle child sexual abuse and exploitation, including the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce which – since July 2023 – has supported the arrest of over 900 individuals and protected thousands of victims.

The work set out above remains the urgent priority of the Government and law enforcement when it comes to tackling child grooming gangs, and delivering justice for victims, and we believe that should remain the priority, rather than commissioning and waiting for the results of another national inquiry.

Home Office