Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when Ministers in her Department held meetings on grooming gangs in the last five years; and who the external attendees at those meetings were.

It is not for this Government to comment on meetings held by previous Government ministers, but I would refer the Rt Hon Member to the quarterly publications of transparency data on ministerial meetings available on the Home Office website.

Since coming to office in July, current Home Office Ministers have been prioritising engagement with victims and survivors of child sexual abuse and exploitation, child protection organisations, law enforcement partners, members of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, and colleagues across Government to further strengthen the response to child sexual abuse and exploitation.

Whilst not always published as some are internal meetings, I can assure the Rt Hon Member that I have taken meetings every single week on this subject since my appointment as a Minister. I have also convened the first dedicated cross-Government group to drive forward change in this crucial area.