Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the police, social workers or other relevant authorities can be prosecuted or otherwise punished for failing to follow up information about sex grooming gangs which has turned out to be accurate.

Any sexual offence allegation must be treated seriously from the outset. Where holders of public office are thought to have wilfully neglected the duties of their office, the offence of misconduct in public office may apply.

The Government has introduced a range of measures to tackle the culture of denial and inaction that has led to children being failed in the past, including: consulting on options to strengthen arrangements in relation to reporting and acting on child abuse or neglect; creating a new national whistleblowing helpline for public sector workers; and introducing legislation to ensure that exit payments for senior staff can be clawed back where those people are quickly re-employed in the same part of the public sector. This will ensure that those who fail to protect children see the consequences of their actions.

Allegations of police misconduct are matters for the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). Where potential issues in investigations of this kind are identified, they should be referred to the IPCC.