A minster has denied the Government is “watering down” inquiries into grooming gangs as it was announced a new child protection authority will be created.
Earlier this year Home Secretary Yvette Cooper vowed that a three-month “rapid audit” of the current situation on grooming gangs and child sexual abuse across the country would be completed, as well as £5million handed out for “victim-centred, locally led inquiries” in five areas.
But it has now been confirmed that councils will be able to choose how to use the funding and will not necessarily have to launch any investigation.
Tory shadow ministers accused the Government of “watering down” measures to analyse how many grooming gangs have operated in Britain and the scale of the abuse.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy on Wednesday rejected the claims saying it's "not the truth" that plans for the five local inquires have been dropped.
She told Times Radio: “What we're doing is working with local areas to make sure that they have the tools that they need to be able to tackle this problem.
“If they need the tools to do proper inquiries, we'll make sure that they are available...We know that the most important thing is that local services have proper systems in place to understand what is happening in their areas and to be able to act very very quickly to recognise the warning signs and to move fast.”
The Government has now laid out the timetable for implementing the 20 recommendations made by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which reported its findings in 2022.
On Tuesday, Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips confirmed that a new child protection authority would be created to address one of the central recommendations of the IICSA.
Ms Phillips told MPs that the publication of the IICSA report should have been a “landmark moment”, but victims and survivors were “failed again” when the recommendations were not properly taken forward under the previous Conservative government.
She told the Commons: “This Government will establish a new child protection authority.
“Building on the national child safeguarding review panel, the child protection authority will address one of IICSA’s central recommendations for providing national leadership and learning on child protection and safeguarding.
“Work to expand the role of the panel will begin immediately, and we will consult on developing the new authority this year.”
The wait for the recommendations to be implemented hit the headlines in January after billionaire X owner Elon Musk criticised the Prime Minister and Ms Phillips over the UK’s handling of child grooming gangs.
The Government had previously knocked back calls for a national review into the scandal in favour of locally led inquiries, saying it was focused on implementing recommendations from Prof Jay’s report, which took seven years to complete and described child sexual abuse as an “epidemic” across England and Wales.
Responding to Ms Phillips’ statement, shadow Home Office minister Katie Lam told the Commons: “In January, the Home Secretary said the Government would conduct five local inquiries into the rape gangs which have terrorised so many innocent children.
“Over three months since the Government announced these local inquiries, Tom Crowther KC, a barrister invited by the Home Office to help establish them, knows almost nothing about their progress, and neither do we.”
She added later: “Local inquiries are not good enough — they can’t compel witnesses, they can’t look at themes across the country, and they can’t address national issues like deportation. Now the Government is watering them down even further. We won’t let them get away with it.”
Tory MP Robbie Moore added: “I am completely infuriated by today’s statement.
“Here we are on the very last sitting day before the Easter recess and the Government have all but admitted that no real progress whatsoever has been made on their promise to launch five local rape gang inquiries.”
The Tories also pressed the case for a national inquiry.
In reply to Ms Lam, Ms Phillips said: "I think it's a shame she only referred to one sort of child abuse victim when the statement is clearly about all child abuse victims, of which there should be no hierarchy. “
Ms Phillips added: "Much of what (Ms Lam) already knows is because of inquiries that have already occurred, such as in Rotherham, such as in Rochdale, such as the two-year inquiry as part of the IICSA panel which she didn't refer to at all, which clearly looked into lots of areas and was a statutory inquiry.
"I wonder if she maybe wants to readdress herself with the 200 pages of that report?”
Ms Phillips pointed to the Government's action plan, adding: "It's about how these things are going to take time."
The recommendations from the final IICSA report included the implementation of laws compelling people in positions of trust to report child sexual abuse and a national compensation scheme for victims.
Ms Phillips said the new Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a new mandatory duty to report child sexual abuse in England for those “undertaking activity” with children, as well as a new criminal offence for obstructing an individual from reporting it under that duty.
“Mandatory reporting will create a culture of openness and honesty, rather than cover ups and secrecy,” she said.
The minister added the Home Office is doubling funding for national services which support adult survivors of child sexual abuse, and that further details on improving access to therapeutic services for victims and survivors will be brought forward “in the coming weeks”.
