Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to support (a) victims and (b) victims families impacted by grooming gangs; and what steps she is taking to ensure these incidents don't occur in the future.

We have been clear that this Government is prioritising work to safeguard children, ensure victims and survivors are protected and supported, while pursing offenders and bringing them to justice.

I have supported, and continue to support, many victims and survivors of grooming gangs and other forms of child sexual exploitation and abuse, both in my capacity as Minister, Member of Parliament and continuing support for those I worked with before becoming an MP.

And we are continuing to work across Government and with policing and law enforcement partners at pace to further strengthen our prevention of and response to all forms of child sexual abuse. This includes the commitments the Home Secretary has outlined in Parliament to introduce a mandatory duty for those working with children to report sexual abuse and exploitation, to make grooming an aggravating factor to toughen up sentencing, and to improve data collection across forces.

In her statement on 16 January 2025, the Home Secretary announced that the Government will be working to develop a new framework for victim-centred, locally-led inquiries, where they are needed, and as a first step to work with Oldham Council and up to four other pilot areas. This will also include support for local authorities who want to explore other ways of supporting victims, including setting up local panels or drawing on the experience of the IICSA Truth Project.

The Home Secretary will also ask all chief constables to look again at historic gang exploitation cases where ‘No Further Action’ was taken, and work with the police Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce to pursue new lines of inquiry and re-open investigations where appropriate and these new measures will be backed by £2 million of additional funding for the taskforce and the panel.

In addition to the statutory support local authorities provide to victims of modern slavery, for potential child victims, the Government has rolled out the Independent Child Trafficking Guardian (ICTG) service to two thirds of local authorities in England and Wales. The ICTG service is currently delivered by Barnardo's.