Home Secretary announces Inquiries into Grooming Gangs

On Thursday 16 January, the Home Secretary Yvette Fielding announced a “rapid national audit” into grooming gangs and new local inquiries.

The three-month national audit will be led by Dame Louise Casey and will investigate the cultural and societal drivers of child sex abuse together with examining ethnicity data and the demographics of the gangs and survivors.

This audit will start “imminently” and will “equip law enforcement with information and understanding they need to combat these crimes.” The audit will be supported by a panel of experts and survivors. The audit will also re- examine historic gang exploitation cases and would allow survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation to seek an independent review of their cases. Investigations “were appropriate” would be reopened.

Professor Alexis Jay the former chairman of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) which concluded in 2022 stated that the IICSA’s recommendations should be implemented “as speedily as possible” commenting that “much valuable time has been lost since her inquiry’s final report was published, causing even more trauma to many victims and survivors.” Ms Fielding committed to setting out a timetable for implementation of IICSA’s recommendations by Easter.

The Government have also stated that they support “victim- centred local inquiries”. These will take place in Oldham and up to four other “pilot areas”. The view of the Government being that “effective local enquiries can deliver more answers and change than a lengthy nationwide inquiry.” Ms Fielding committed the Government to working with “local mayors and council to make sure that we can strengthen the accountability arrangements.”

Lucy Duckworth from The Survivors Trust said these developments “would bring about fundamental and cultural change in how we protect children from sexual abuse of any form and how we support victims and survivors to recover from the trauma they experienced.” 

The announcement by the Home Secretary is welcomed as there is now a clear commitment to implement IICSA’s recommendations and providing a timetable by Easter. There needs to be continued pressure placed on the Government to ensure that they honour the promise they have made to survivors of abuse.

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