Will the Grooming Gangs Inquiry make a difference?

In April, the statutory independent inquiry into grooming gangs finally got to work. This inquiry will examine failures in tackling grooming gangs across England and Wales and it will ‘consider the factors that allowed exploitation to happen and go unaddressed, including the ethnicity, religion and culture of both perpetrators and victims.'This follows Baroness Louise Casey's national audit last year, which found that authorities had historically ‘shied away from' addressing the ethnicity of perpetrators.Casey's report also highlighted that ethnicity is not recorded for around two-thirds of individuals involved in grooming gang offences, leaving the available data too incomplete to draw reliable national conclusions about offender profiles.IICSA found systemic failures across various organisations, including police forces, social care and local authorities. This included weak information- sharing, a reluctance to act and inadequate support for victims. Its recommendations were designed to correct these flaws.Many have welcomed the latest inquiry into grooming gangs, although there have been understandable frustrations from survivors about the politicising of the inquiry and the slow progress. And the question remains – is this inquiry going to move the dial on this issue and actually change things?Sadly, history does not paint a rosy picture – we had the wide-ranging Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which concluded in 2022. This seven-year, extensive (and expensive) inquiry made 20 recommendations to better protect children from sexual abuse across its 19 reports on 15 investigations covering a wide range of institutions.Yet earlier this year, the High Court granted permission for a judicial review into the Government's failure to act on the recommendations from IICSA. The challenge is led by former Greater Manchester Police detective Maggie Oliver, who was a whistleblower about the force's inaction over grooming gangs.The judicial review argues the Government acted unlawfully or unreasonably by failing to implement key findings from IICSA. The Survivors Trust UK reported in July 2025 that only three of 20 recommendations were in progress, and none had been implemented, 1,000 days after the report.Had the recommendations from IISCA been implemented promptly, would we be looking at a different environment, one where grooming gangs were not so prevalent? Perhaps.IICSA found systemic failures across various organisations, including police forces, social care and local authorities. This included weak information- sharing, a reluctance to act and inadequate support for victims. Its recommendations were designed to correct these flaws.These changes align closely with the failures identified in past grooming gang cases, so implementation of the IICSA recommendations would likely have led to earlier recognition of crimes and more decisive and confident handling by authorities.Of course, it is impossible to say for sure, particularly as the landscape which has allowed the systemic abuse of children and young people through grooming gangs is predicated on complex and well-established social and institutional dynamics. It would be very difficult for a set of recommendations to guarantee prevention, but there is no denying opportunities were missed.Simply put, inquiry or no inquiry, grooming gangs are not going to go away. Sexual exploitation is often closely linked to organised crime and runs hand-in-hand with county lines. That is the extent of the problem, and it will take considerable government leadership to address what is clearly a deeply entrenched and widespread issue affecting all parts of the UK.The victims and survivors we act for have little faith in the justice system as they have been let down by the state in the first place. It takes considerable effort on our part to encourage and support them. Without that support, we doubt that most would co-operate with the police.However, the Grooming Gangs Inquiry is an important step forward. It has the power to create real change, particularly if it results in new laws and one of the original intentions – to address the ‘denial, resistance and legal wrangling among local agencies' in relation to grooming gangs. It should also help shine a light on the fact that grooming gangs are not an issue localised to a few regions of the UK, but a nationwide problem which needs addressing urgently.Alan Collins is partner in the Abuse Claims Team at Bolt Burdon Kemp

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CHILDREN'S SERVICES

Will the Grooming Gangs Inquiry make a difference?

By Alan Collins | 06 May 2026

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