Thank you for contacting me about child sexual exploitation (CSE) and grooming gangs.
Keeping children safe is one of society’s most fundamental responsibilities. People who engage in CSE must be stopped, regardless of their race, age, or gender. While it is not exclusive to any single culture, community, race or religion, the prevention and exposure of child abuse must not be impeded by political or cultural sensitivities.
I warmly welcome the publication of the final report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA). The inquiry was established by the Government in 2015 to investigate failings of state and non-state organisations over several decades, across England and Wales, to protect and safeguard children from sexual abuse and make recommendations for reform. Victims and survivors of child sexual abuse have bravely shared their experiences with the inquiry and shed light on the number of failures by institutions which should have protected them.
The Government has rightly extended their thanks to everyone who contributed to the inquiry and pledged to make sure the failings are never repeated. Ministers have stated that it will take time to fully review its findings and recommendations, and a comprehensive response will be provided in line with the inquiry's deadline. In the immediate term, the Home Office has announced a further £4.5 million for organisations supporting victims and survivors of child sexual abuse at a national level. This money will go to seven organisations who provide vital support for children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse, adult survivors, and parents or carers of victims.
In an earlier investigation into group-based offending, the IICSA recommended that police forces and local authorities collect specific data, including sex, ethnicity and disability of all cases of CSE, including by networks. In its response to the investigation, the Government highlighted the work they are undertaking with police to drive improvements in the collection, analysis and use of data on child sexual exploitation. This includes through
funding dedicated child sexual abuse and exploitation analysts in every policing region. The Government has also introduced a mandatory requirement for police forces to record the ethnicity of those arrested and held in custody because of their suspected involvement in grooming gangs
More broadly, the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy, published in January 2021, outlines the Government's commitment to strengthen the UK's response to all forms of child sexual abuse, including by organised networks. The Strategy sets out how investment in the UK’s world-leading Child Abuse Image Database will identify and catch offenders more quickly. Importantly, officers’ well-being will be protected by ensuring they are not repeatedly exposed to indecent images. In addition, targeted action, through the Home Office funded Prevention Programme, forms a key pillar of the Strategy. Delivered by The Children’s Society, the Programme involves coordinators in each of the ten policing regions driving local and regional work to combat different types of exploitation.
However, it is right that Ministers have recognised that concerns remain about current policing practice in responding to CSE. We owe it to victims and communities to take steps to ensure the lessons we are learning from past mistakes are applied across the country. The Home Office has therefore commissioned His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services to undertake a bespoke thematic inspection of the police's response to group based CSE. This inspection will constitute a broad assessment of the quality and effectiveness of the policing response to victims and offenders. I will be sure to follow this work as it develops.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.