A new inquiry into child sexual exploitation isn't needed – but government action is

With his claims of a cover up on the nature and scale of ‘grooming gangs’ – groups of men who groomed and abused disadvantaged girls in English towns between the 1980s and the 2010s – Elon Musk has instigated an argument over whether the UK needs another national inquiry into child sexual exploitation. The Conservative bid to set up a new inquiry through an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill failed last week, but since then more politicians have taken up the cause. 

There is an opportunity to make progress on tackling this issue. There is not, however, a good argument to launch another drawn-out national statutory inquiry.

There has already been an inquiry – we don’t need another one

The most powerful argument against a new national inquiry is that the UK has already had a comprehensive, seven-year national statutory inquiry (the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, IICSA) chaired by Professor Alexis Jay, a child protection expert. It published its final report in 2022. The inquiry had a wide-ranging scope, investigating abuse in children’s homes, the church and Westminster and scrutinising institutional responses to child sexual exploitation – including grooming gangs. It involved more than 7,000 victims and survivors of child sexual abuse, including through the ‘Truth Project’, which gave survivors the opportunity to share their experiences and put forward suggestions for change. 

Why, then, are some politicians calling for a new inquiry? The leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch, has argued for an inquiry looking specifically at the failures of state institutions. But the previous inquiry covered this extensively, with specific reports on abuse linked to Westminster and three local councils. Many of these failures were profound and horrifying, but we gain nothing from retreading old ground. 

Nigel Farage, meanwhile, called for an inquiry focused exclusively on Pakistani men abusing white girls. There is nothing to indicate such an approach would be helpful. The available data is poor, but it suggests most perpetrators of all forms of child sex abuse, including organised sexual exploitation, are white. ¹³ Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce, Group-Based Offending Publication, 2024, https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/assets/Documents/CSE-Taskforce-Group-Based-Offending-Publication-November-2024.pdf  Focusing too much on specific ethnicity types or kinds of abuse (like grooming gangs) can be harmful, by encouraging assumptions about what abuse looks like and who is likely to be a perpetrator or a victim. ¹⁴ Fox C, ‘It’s Not on the Radar’: The hidden diversity of children and young people at risk of sexual exploitation in England, Barnardo’s, 2017, https://safeguarding.network/content/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/it_s_not_on_the_radar_report.pdf  

It would be better to focus on improving data collection. In response to IICSA’s work, statistics are now published on different types of child sexual abuse. ¹⁵ Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce, Group-Based Offending Publication, 2024, https://www.hydrantprogramme.co.uk/assets/Documents/CSE-Taskforce-Group-Based-Offending-Publication-November-2024.pdf  This includes ethnicity data for suspects and victims, adding some useful detail in an area where there has been highly charged debate. Self-defined ethnicity data is only available for 34% of suspects, however. More complete data collection will be needed if it is to be truly useful.

The real scandal has been the failure to act quickly enough

The final report of IICSA put forward 20 core recommendations, including on mandatory reporting of sexual abuse, action on online abuse and the creation of a Child Protection Authority. We are still waiting for change.

This is the more serious charge on institutional failure to tackle child sexual abuse: that even after a major national inquiry, none of the recommendations have yet been implemented in full. Professor Jay and the ‘Act on IICSA’ campaign group have been highlighting this for some time. In January 2024 – 15 months on from the final report – Professor Jay spoke about her frustration on the failure to act and urged the then home secretary, James Cleverly, to ‘get on and do it.’

This is part of a much broader challenge in public inquiries. They are considered the gold standard for independent investigations – particularly in cases of state failure. But in practice, there is little in place to ensure that their recommendations are taken on. Time and time again, the victims and survivors who were involved in inquiries must take on the role of campaigning for change.  

What is needed now is action on the inquiry's recommendations 

There is now an opportunity to make progress on tackling child sexual abuse. A better alternative to a new inquiry would be setting up a mechanism to ensure existing recommendations are implemented. This could mean appointing an independent specialist, or providing dedicated funding to the children’s commissioner, to monitor action and transparently report on progress. Either would keep pressure on the government and drive further action long after this particular row fades. 

If government is persuaded of the need for a new inquiry, it should look at options short of a new full-blown statutory inquiry. This could take the form of  a limited and swift assessment – taking months rather than years – of whether there were any gaps in IICSA that need further attention. Alternatively, local areas may decide they have specific questions or challenges worth further investigation; these are best answered through local inquiries. 

Some local politicians have expressed concern that this approach cannot compel people to appear, but this does not prevent effective reviews: the independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham was not a statutory inquiry. The non-statutory Telford inquiry into child sexual exploitation was highly effective, working with survivors from the start and seeing 38 of its 47 recommendations fully implemented. ¹⁶ https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5cc814eee8ba44aa938d883c/t/62cda1c3bc208b4915d3ff50/1657643464900/IITCSE+REPORT+-+VOLUME+ONE.pdf

But there is no case for another drawn out national statutory inquiry. The best way to help the hundreds of thousands of children being sexually abused every year is to listen to and act on the investigation that has already taken place.