Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Independent report entitled IICSA: report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published 14 December 2022, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of Recommendation 15 on victims of child sexual abuse.

The Government is truly grateful to victims and survivors for bravely sharing their perspectives and experiences with the Inquiry and supporting its work over the past seven years.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published its final Report on Thursday 20 October 2022. This is an important milestone in cross-sector efforts to tackle all forms of child sexual abuse.

Insight from victims and survivors is invaluable in understanding how we can continue to tackle this horrific crime and make sure appropriate supports are in place to help victims and survivors rebuild their lives. We will keep working across government and with a wide range of partners such as children’s charities, frontline professionals, law enforcement, and local authorities to ensure that the voices of victims and survivors are kept at the heart of our work to keep children safe from child sexual exploitation and abuse.

We will also work across Government at every level to address the issues raised by the Inquiry, and the Home Secretary will convene ministers across Whitehall to drive forward progress. This is in addition to the existing cross-departmental Governance that is already in place to monitor the implementation of the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy.

We owe it to the victims and survivors to give the Inquiry’s final recommendations proper time, consideration, and attention. That is why the Government will carefully consider all of the findings and each recommendation, including recommendation 15, before responding fully within the Inquiry’s six-month timeframe, by April 2023.