Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will set up a national independent inquiry into whether police forces across the country failed to fulfil their statutory duty to protect children from so-called “grooming gangs” during the period 1995 to 2015.

In March 2015 the Home Office established the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse to consider the extent to which institutions – including the police – have failed in their duty to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The Inquiry has announced an investigation examining institutional responses to the sexual exploitation of children by organised networks.

This Government attaches the highest priority to tackling child sexual exploitation. We have declared it a national threat and this categorisation remains in force to empower police forces to apply their best skills and expertise to tackle the problem.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct operates independently of Government and the Home Secretary does not have the power to refer matters to it for investigation.