Oldham, Bradford and Keighley, and London first areas investigated in Grooming Gangs inquiry
The first national public accountability hearings will be held by the end of the year.
Oldham, Bradford, Keighley and London have been named as the first local investigation areas in a national grooming gangs inquiry.
The Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs has today announced its plans to
hold its first national public accountability hearings by the end of the year, with individuals
and institutions compelled to explain publicly what they did or did not do to protect children
from being sexually abused and harmed by grooming gangs.
The Inquiry will also review whether institutions and individuals in other areas which have
already had reviews into grooming gangs, such as Telford, Rochdale, Oxford and
Rotherham, have implemented the changes recommended to them following those previous
investigations.
Victims and Survivors Charter
Alongside these announcements, the Inquiry is publishing its Victims and Survivors Charter,
co-produced with victims and survivors of grooming gangs, which sets out how victims and
survivors will be supported to share their experiences with the Inquiry and influence its work.
The Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs is investigating the exploitation and
sexual abuse of children by grooming gangs, and the failure of both national and local
authorities to protect them over decades. The Inquiry is chaired by Baroness Anne Longfield
CBE, with panel members Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE.
National Public Accountability hearings
The first national accountability hearings will take place at the end of this year and will
focus on national and local institutions and individuals responsible for supporting victims
and survivors - the services that should have identified and stepped in when terrible
atrocities and abuse were happening.
This will include many different institutions including Central Government departments,
national police organisations, the CPS, politicians, local councils, the NHS, and others.
The second part of the accountability hearings will focus on the areas that have already
had inquiries or major reviews to assess their progress.
Recommendations
The Inquiry has identified more than 800 recommendations relating to grooming gangs and
child sexual exploitation and abuse across previous reviews, reports and inquiries dating
back to the 1990s. Its ongoing analysis indicates that there has been significant
inconsistency in how these recommendations have been implemented. Where
recommendations have not been implemented, these accountability hearings will examine
why not.
Tech Companies Investigated
The third part of the national accountability hearings will be to investigate tech companies
and the role of technology in the exploitation of children by grooming gangs.
The Inquiry will make early recommendations on all three parts of these national
accountability hearings, which will then be tracked throughout the Inquiry. Towards the end
of the Inquiry, it will check its recommendations are being implemented through follow up.
The Inquiry’s local area investigations in Oldham, Bradford and Keighley, and London will
examine in detail at what happened in a particular place, including how children were
targeted and exploited, how institutions and individuals responded, how victims and
survivors were treated, and what needs to change. The experiences of victims and
survivors in those areas will be at the heart of these investigations.
The Inquiry has selected these areas based on a range of factors, including victim and
survivor experiences, indications of harm or risk, previous reviews and unresolved issues,
evidence or allegations suggesting possible institutional or systemic failure, and levels of
public concern.
Local Investigations to build national picture
Each local investigation will help the Inquiry to build a clearer national picture and feeds
directly into its national findings and recommendations.
Oldham
Oldham was announced as a local area for investigation last year by the then Home
Secretary. Work there is already underway and the Inquiry is gathering evidence now.
In Bradford and Keighley, concerns have been raised over many years by victims and
survivors, campaigners, elected representatives and others. These concerns have formed
an important part of the case for investigation and will now be examined directly by the
Inquiry.
London
London presents a different context because of its scale and complexity, with multiple
boroughs and overlapping local, regional and national systems. The Inquiry will examine
how group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse by grooming gangs has been
identified and responded to, including London’s links with surrounding or connected areas.
It will also take account of relevant work underway, including by the London Assembly.
Further local areas will be announced later this year, guided by the criteria for local
investigations that the Inquiry is also publishing today, and any further evidence it receives.
The Inquiry will also investigate those areas which have already had a previous
investigation through other inquiries, to examine their progress on implementing
recommendations.
Victims and Survivors Charter
The Inquiry has victims and survivors at its heart and is publishing its Victims and Survivors
Charter, co-produced with victims and survivors. The Charter sets out how victims and
survivors will be supported, listened to, kept informed and how they will be key to shaping
the Inquiry’s work.
Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, Chair of the Inquiry, said:
“The Inquiry’s task is to find out why this catastrophic failure of the state happened and
continues to happen, to establish why victims and survivors of abuse were failed, and to hold
to account those institutions and individuals who failed them.
“Our National Accountability Hearings will begin before the end of the year. There have been
many inquiries and reviews into grooming gangs and Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
over the past 20 years, putting forward over 800 recommendations, many of which have not
been implemented. These hearings will help us to establish what national institutions and
services should have been doing to implement these findings and to protect children from
abuse and harm - and what, if any, progress has been made in areas where investigations
have taken place.
“We are determined that our work ensures that no further inquiries into grooming gangs will
ever be needed.”
could have protected children did not happen. We will look at the role culture, ethnicity and
religion may have played in the decisions that were taken, and whether some in authority
were too squeamish to act.”
Eleanor Kelly CBE, said:
“The Inquiry is determined to find the answers that victims and survivors have been denied
for so long. We will set out what must change and hold those responsible to account, so that
children are protected as they should be - and these horrific failures are never allowed to
happen again.”