Tories are accused of an “absolutely sickening” attempt to scupper a massive child protection Bill to make a political point.
The opposition will today try to force a vote on a national inquiry into grooming gangs. They are accused of political opportunism, and former Cabinet member Nadine Dorries has admitted there was no discussion of doing so when she was in post.
Keir Starmer has blasted Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for using the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to try to force a vote on a national inquiry into grooming gangs – which risks derailing the legislation. Under Commons rules, an amendment at this stage can stop a bill from progressing.
It follows days of rants by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk. The amendment has almost zero chance of passing because of Labour’s massive Commons majority. But the attempt to try and embarrass the Government has sparked outrage.
Here we look at the Bill and the controversy around it.
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What’s the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill?
It’s a massive piece of legislation, which aims to protect children and drive up school standards.
One of the key focuses is improving safeguarding after horrific stories of children falling through the cracks of the system. The tragic case of Sara Sharif, who was taken out of primary school four months before her death at the hands of her father and stepmother, underlined the need for tougher rules.
The bill ends the automatic right for parents to homeschool kids if their child is subject to a protection investigation and orders councils to create a register of children who aren’t in school. It would also create a national insurance-style number for kids so they don’t fall through the cracks between systems.
On school standards, there are tougher regulations for teachers and measures to ensure all state schools offer the same pay and conditions. There’s also a change to rules so failing schools don’t automatically become academies.
Parents will also be protected from costly uniform bills, with new rules to limit the number of branded items they have to buy. It also paves the way for the creation of free breakfast clubs in every primary school in England, with a year-long pilot due to begin in April.
So what are the Tories doing?
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The Tories have put forward an amendment to try and force a vote on a national inquiry into grooming gangs.
Ms Badenoch and co claim that a seven-year probe into child sex abuse – that the Tories commissioned and set the terms for – did not go far enough. Despite not having launched a probe into grooming gangs themselves, they now demand Labour does so.
The issue has been in the spotlight after tech billionaire Elon Musk launched a vile tirade against Mr Starmer and Home Office Minister Jess Phillips. The Government rejected a new inquiry, saying they would instead focus on actioning the recommendations of the last one, which ended in 2022.
Neil O’Brien MP, Shadow Education Minister, said: “The victims of the child rape gangs deserve justice. So many have never had their voices heard.
“At present the government is blocking a full national inquiry. This cannot stand, so the Conservatives have tabled an amendment to their Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to call for an inquiry.”
What does Keir Starmer say?
The PM has accused the Tories of politicising the issue. In an interview with The Mirror he said: “It’s a shocking tactic, completely short sighted.
“I would implore any right-thinking Tory MP to vote for the bill because this would kill the bill, this would kill the legislation. It would kill the provisions for a unique identifying number that will stop children falling through the cracks.”
He went on: “No MP should be voting down children’s safeguarding measures. It’s shocking they are even thinking about this as a tactic. It’s the elevation of the desire for retweets over any real interest in the safeguarding of children.” He urged sensible Tories to “think twice” before backing the move.
So is this opportunism?
There’s no arguing with the fact that the Tories could have launched an inquiry themselves when they were in Government.
And to make matters worse, Nadine Dorries said the matter wasn’t raised while she was in the Cabinet. She suggested Dame Priti Patel and Suella Braverman – both former Home Secretaries – have questions to answer.
Ms Dorries said: “I can assure you that the entire time I was Cabinet, this was never discussed.” It comes a day after Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick – who has made a number of inflammatory statements in the past week, including claiming “alien cultures” have arrived in the UK – was skewered in a BBC radio interview.
On the BBC’s Today Programme, he was challenged on his record by Nick Robinson, who said: “I’ve checked (Parliament record) Hansard today, and it’s not a perfect test. When you put in the name Robert Jenrick Grooming? No mention.
“Grooming gangs? No mention. Rotherham? No mention. Oldham? No mention. Rochdale? No mention. Child sexual abuse? No mention, Mr Jenrick. Child rape? No mention.
“You have not raised – or have you, please correct me if my search is wrong – the issue of child rape and child sexual abuse that you are so energised about. You have no evidence you raised it as a minister and you have no evidence that you’ve raise it in the House of Commons.”
“Nick,” Mr Jenrick replied. “I wrote about this last year and I was criticised by the media for doing so.”
The Education Secretary was pretty scathing too, right?
Yes. Bridget Phillipson branded the Tory actions “absolutely sickening”.
She told Times Radio: “We are looking right across the recommendations that Alexis Jay set out and there are crucial recommendations from the review that she carried out.
“That’s why today we are setting out legislation that addresses many of the wider challenges that we see right across our system. It’s why the Home Secretary announced in the House of Commons the action that we are taking.
“So we are wasting no time in legislating to keep children safe. The question for the Conservatives today is why they are intent on blocking this landmark piece of child protection legislation that would keep the very children safe that they claim they are concerned about.”
She added: “They come along today as we set out legislation to protect the very children they claim to care about and they intend to block it and kill it stone dead. It is absolutely sickening.”
What does the head of the last child sex abuse inquiry say?
The head of a seven-year inquiry into child sex abuse has warned a national grooming gangs probe would lead to more delays – at a time when victims desperately need action.
Prof Jay, who headed the harrowing Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), said she was unhappy that some were “politicising” the issue with little concern for victims.
Prof Jay told the BBC’s Today Programme: “I think that the time has passed for more inquiries. We’ve had enough of inquiries, consultations and discussions, and especially for those victims and survivors who’ve had the courage to come forward.
“And there are many of them across the piece in child sexual abuse, not simply child sexual exploitation. They clearly want action.
Prof Jay voiced her frustration over people wading in “in a very uninformed way”, but refused to criticise Elon Musk by name. Asked if she was upset with the recent debate, she said: “I would not attribute that to everyone, but I’ve certainly been very unhappy about the the politicisation of child sexual exploitation and child sexual abuse and the way that many people – sometimes in a very uninformed way – have waded into the argument.”