Local inquiries into Child Sexual Exploitation are merely pins on a map; a national inquiry is needed to string them together

With Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s audit of child sexual exploitation underway, and the government backing local inquiries, the controversy remains. Henry Bermingham argues that whilst these local inquiries can drive change on a small scale, they will fail to address the full causes of child sexual exploitation.

In January, there was an intense political debate around whether a national inquiry into grooming gangs and child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the UK was needed. It began after the safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, rejected calls for a national inquiry. This sparked protests from the Conservative party and caught the attention of Elon Musk who commented extensively on X.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper backed Phillips’ position, supporting a three-month audit on gang-based exploitation. £5 million pounds was allocated for locally led inquiries and a framework for future investigations was commissioned, based on pilot inquiries that were ongoing. Five areas were to be covered.

Any investigation into CSE is a step in the right direction, but this has proved insufficient for the government’s critics and the controversy has continued. For those charged with fighting CSE and dealing with the cases that emerge from it, this is deeply unhelpful. The professionals need to ask objectively “Do we need a national inquiry.”

Local focus v national scope

Local inquiries have proved to be very valuable, often seen to deliver faster, more locally relevant outcomes than national investigations. Recent probes into child exploitation (CSE) have been particularly well-received by the government, aligning with Labour’s broader devolution agenda.

Led by local authorities, placing victims at their core, and pinpointing failures at a granular level, local inquiries can bring about meaningful, impactful change. The Telford investigation into CSE, for instance led by Tom Crowther KC, was a good example, producing 47 recommendations, all of which are en route to be implemented.

However, despite their strengths, local investigations fall short   when dealing with a national problem.

The limits of local inquiries

Local inquiries, despite offering an immediate and community driven response to CSE, have limitations. Most obviously, they are not statutory inquires and lack the legal power to compel witnesses to testify.

As a result, whilst investigations and inquiries commissioned by local authorities have provided a detailed analysis of the local authority role in these cases they are unable to examine in detail the role of other agencies or how that fits into a combined multi-agency picture.

The truth of CSE, is that it has emerged as a result of failures by multiple agencies, most notably around information sharing. When analysing these cases, it is common for us to find failures by schools, hospital trusts, youth organisations, sexual health services, transport companies, the nighttime economy, and the criminal justice system itself.

Whilst existing local reviews and inquiries (starting with Alexis Jay in Rotherham) have shed considerable light on child exploitation, they cannot gain access to, or be seen to gain access to, the full evidence from all of the agencies involved.

In light of this, the government’s assumption that a framework can be developed for five local authorities to undertake investigations in their areas is flawed. Since Alexis Jay first reported on Rotherham, there have been numerous inquiries, case reviews and serious case reviews published on the subject. The local authority role in this issue has been well investigated, analysed, and reported. The government’s proposal will give five more inquiries, likely to say much the same as before.

Further, where child sexual exploitation (CSE) is detected, one of the most shocking aspects is often the sheer scale of victimisation and the prolonged duration of offending. Consequently, CSE inquiries typically require the review of extensive volumes of documentation and evidence.

The government has proposed £1m per local inquiry (£5m in total), but, to do justice on this subject in a local inquiry, where hundreds of young people have been abused, will require much greater resources. Only a national inquiry, with the full backing of the Treasury is likely to have the resources and the time available to produce the definitive work which is needed to eradicate child sexual exploitation.

The issue extends beyond a single town or city and it is not just limited to northern towns. A localised approach further risks missing a bigger picture where networks of perpetrators operate across multiple towns or even regionally.

The future of local inquiries

It appears that the government, whilst clearly committed to the fight against child sexual exploitation, has failed to recognise that local and national inquiries are not opposing solutions but complementary tools. Each has its own strength, but to truly tackle the UK’s most serious issues, they need now to come together.

There have been numerous local investigations and inquiries into CSE. They are like pins on a map. What they do not and cannot do is give the full multi-agency, national picture of what happened. Neither can they come up with national answers.

Whilst there are clear benefits in empowering local communities to lead their own inquiries, a nationally endemic issue cannot be addressed by a small number of unconnected local investigations which depend on the voluntary co-operation of stakeholders. That is unlikely to deliver a truly multi-agency outcome and a multi-agency strategy for the eradication of child sexual exploitation (CSE).

Without a broader investigation, patterns of abuse and institutional failings that extend beyond individual councils may go unnoticed. A statutory inquiry would provide that missing link, compelling witnesses to testify and uncovering system failures that span multiple agencies. This principle applies not just to CSE but to other national crises where a balance must be struck. On the one hand, local knowledge and experience needs to be combined with the statutory powers and abilities of a national inquiry to investigate beyond any specific local area or agency.

Henry Bermingham is a partner at Weightmans.