Camden Nursery Sexual Abuse Case

Sam Carling Excerpts

Thursday 4th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

The local review will get under way immediately. It will be led by an independent reviewer, who is independent of the local safeguarding partnership. From the point at which they take up the post, there will be six months for that report to come forward. The chair of the national panel will keep in close contact with the local reviewer during that time to track progress and any emerging challenges or issues, and that will be shared with the Department for Education if necessary.

The hon. Member is right to highlight that safeguarding is a responsibility for all of us—to challenge, to question and to report what we see. The reforms that we will set out in response to Alexis Jay’s review, including through the child protection authority, will be an important means of reinforcing that. We all have to be ever vigilant and willing to challenge and question, but also to believe children when they are able to speak and tell us what they have experienced. We must take that seriously and act on their concerns. That is a responsibility not just for staff in early years settings, but for all of us right across society.

[Sam Carling (North West Cambridgeshire) (Lab)]

This awful case underlines how important it is that we implement the recommendations from the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse as soon as possible. As my hon. Friend the Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Helen Hayes) said, the Home Office has set out plans not to implement the recommendation on mandatory reporting in full. I spoke on Report of the Crime and Policing Bill to set out why that will leave children vulnerable. Will the Secretary of State ask the relevant Minister from her Department to meet me to discuss these concerns in more detail and to find a solution?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I understand the concerns that my hon. Friend raises and the importance of ensuring that we have the strongest possible protections for all children to keep them safe from harm. That is why we provided a progress update arising from the IICSA recommendations, which included the establishment of a child protection authority, and we will set out more shortly and launch a consultation on how we take this forward. I will speak to colleagues in the Home Office to ensure that my hon. Friend has the meeting that he requests to discuss this matter further.