National Inquiry on Grooming Gangs Receives Record Funding and Begins Work

A statutory national inquiry into grooming gangs has secured £65 million in government funding and will run for up to three years, concluding no later than March 2029. The inquiry will examine links between race, ethnicity, religion, culture, and the abuse cases.

Panel member Zoë Billingham told the Home Affairs Committee that investigators would not turn away from evidence showing offenders were of Pakistani heritage.

Billingham said the panel had heard direct testimony from victims and survivors. She stated investigators would conduct a forensic examination of whether religion, culture, heritage, and background served as drivers for the abuse. The inquiry will also review how police forces and social services responded to reports of grooming gangs.

Billingham said the panel would examine why agencies turned the other cheek when presented with evidence of a clear and present danger.

Baroness Longfield, who is chairing the inquiry, said the panel was not squeamish about the task ahead. She noted there is no single profile for either survivors or perpetrators. Local investigations will begin in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The inquiry has the legal authority to compel public officials, police forces, and councils to provide evidence.

Senior ministers will be among the first witnesses summoned to public hearings. They will be asked to explain their failure to act on recommendations from previous inquiries. Around 400 recommendations have emerged from successive national and local inquiries, many of which remain unimplemented.

Longfield said the panel does not think there should be another inquiry after this one. The Home Office has announced £100 million to fight child sex offences and protect victims and survivors, including £38 million for Operation Beaconport.