Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Solicitor General, what steps her Department is taking to improve prosecution rates for grooming gang offences.

This Government is committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse and exploitation, including grooming gangs, by stamping out these abhorrent crimes and bringing perpetrators to justice.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) will always prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children whenever its legal test is met, regardless of how much time has passed since the offending took place.

Between 2021/22 and 2024/25, the CPS has seen a 25% increase in prosecutions for child sexual abuse. These efforts have been grounded in a commitment to safeguarding victims and holding offenders to account. CPS prosecutors who deal with contact child sexual abuse cases receive specialist training which emphasises a trauma-informed and suspect-focused approach to decision-making.

The CPS has a dedicated national Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit (OCSAU) with highly experienced prosecutors leading on the most complex and high-risk cases of child sexual abuse, including those involving grooming gangs. As of June 2025, OCSAU has secured 85 convictions, with a conviction rate of 82.5%. This includes convictions arising from Operation Stovewood, which is the investigation into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. Each single prosecution represents justice for multiple victims.