Has Elon Musk bullied the UK Government into responding to the grooming gangs scandal? Or has the mounting pressure from Labour backbench MPs in support of an inquiry caused the government’s mini U-turn?
On Thursday 16 January, the home secretary Yvette Cooper gave a statement in the Commons setting out how the government will tackle crimes of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Its starting point was to reiterate its commitment to implementing the Alexis Jay report.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IISCA) report led by Professor Alexis Jay was first commissioned in 2016 and concluded in Autumn 2022. Following seven years examining safeguarding practice across different institutions and settings, it produced multiple reports and made 20 recommendations for the government to action. The Evangelical Alliance was given core participant status and gave oral evidence and written submission outlining child protection policy and practice across our membership and wider Christian church.
All 20 recommendations were accepted in full under the previous Conservative government, but little progress was made in implementation. The Labour government has reasserted its commitment to the recommendations, particularly legislating in the upcoming Crime and Policing Bill to make it mandatory for institutions and professions to report child abuse. By Easter we expect the government to publish an implementation timeline for the other 19 recommendations.
In addition, the home secretary instructed all police forces “to look again at historical gang exploitation cases and pursue and reopen investigations where appropriate” and held several meetings with its newly established victims and survivors panel to listen to and embed their ideas on improving police reporting and investigation. You can read the full transcript of the minister’s statement and other MPs’ responses to the government’s announcement on parliament.uk.
However, the minister did stop short of announcing a nationwide inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal and instead pledged government support to locally led inquiries and commissioned a three-month audit to look into the cultural and societal drivers of offending. We outline both proposals below.
1. A £5 million pound fund to support Oldham and up to four other locally led inquiries into grooming gangs.
The home secretary argued that a locally led inquiry can “delve into far more local detail and deliver more locally relevant answers and change than a lengthy nationwide inquiry”.
It will now be the responsibility of Tom Crowther KC, who has experience in chairing the Telford grooming gang inquiry, to ‘develop a victim-centred’ framework in Oldham council and to pilot it in four other towns. The desired outcome of these inquiries is to support local authorities to find solutions, redress and other ways to support those victims affected by grooming gangs.
The announcement of a locally led grooming gangs inquiry instead of a nationwide one was met with mixed reactions in the chamber, particularly from opposition parties. The shadow home office minister Chris Philp argued “these local inquiries will not have the power to compel witnesses to attend or to requisition written evidence” and that the scale of grooming scandal extends beyond five towns across decades. He argued justice and accountability must be pursued for all victims.
2. A “rapid review audit” detailing the scale and nature of grooming gangs to report back in three months.
A recurring finding in the IISCA inquiry was the lack of accurate data within police force or other public sector institutions regarding the scale and prevalence of child sexual exploitation and so this announcement seeks to improve police investigation going forward and to address historical failures.
Baroness Louise Casey will work with all 43 police forces across the country to examine existing ethnicity data and demographics collected during investigations. Concluding her three months, she will make recommendations to police and other criminal justice agencies in their role to better identify group-based crime and support victims of sexual violence crimes throughout the investigation.
"This is about the protection of children, the protection of young girls, and the radical and ambitious mission we have set for this government to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.”"
home secretary
home secretary
Once the government publishes its violence against women and girls strategy and Crime and Policing Bill, we will provide an update to members, ensuring the church plays its role in pursuing truth and protecting children and those vulnerable to exploitation.
To receive policy briefings and information on how we will represent our membership to government and policymakers, please sign up to receive our monthly e-newsletter.
Everything Advocacy
Keeping your data secure is very important to us. By providing your personal details you agree to allow the Evangelical Alliance to contact you either on the basis of the consents you have given us or for our Legitimate Interests in accordance with current data protection regulations. We will never make your personal data available for marketing purposes to external individuals or organisations. For more information view our privacy policy or email [email protected].
