The UK government has announced it will spend £10 million on new inquiries into grooming gangs – focusing on ‘cultural drivers’ and the ethnicity of the gangs.’
Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, will ask police forces to re-open ‘cold cases’ related to child sexual exploitation and abuse.
It follows weeks of pressure from the Tories, Reform UK and erratic tech billionaire Elon Musk, who have noisily demanded a fresh national inquiry into the scandal.
But instead of a national inquiry the plan will set up a raft of local inquiries, which the government believe will be more effective for victims.
Ms Cooper said the government would lay out plans to take forward the 20 recommendations from the Jay inqiury into child sexual abuse.
And she confirmed ministers would comply with all the recommendations of a separate, standalone inquiry specifically into grooming gangs, published in 2022.
She said data available on the ethnicity of perpetrators was “inadequate” – and would be improved.
Under the plan, Baroness Louise Casey will perform a rapid, three-month audit of the evidence available on grooming gangs, and make recommendations for how to improve it to prevent more failures.
Ms Cooper said the immediate focus would be on police investigations, but would offer the Home Office’s backing for new local inquiries.
Ms Cooper said such local inquiries would be able to delve deeper into local issues than a lengthy national probe.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said she did not believe local inquiries would be enough.
Speaking before the announcement was made, Ms Badenoch said: “Oldham has decided not to do the local inquiry and asked for a national inquiry because it knows that local inquiries are limited.”
She added: “They couldn’t summon people, only a national inquiry can do that.”