Lisa Nandy insists Government not watering down grooming gangs response
Ministers faced a backlash in the Commons for not providing an update on local reviews into grooming the Government had previously promised.
It is not true to suggest the Government is watering down measures to protect against grooming gangs, Lisa Nandy said, after ministers faced questions about the future of a series of local inquiries into the issue.
Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips faced a backlash in the Commons for not providing an update on local reviews into grooming the Government had previously promised.
She was questioned about the fate of the inquiries as she announced a new child protection authority will be created to address one of the central recommendations of Professor Alexis Jay’s major investigation into child sexual abuse.
Asked if it was true to suggest ministers were watering down their plans after the lack of update on the plans, Culture Secretary Ms Nandy told Times Radio: “No, it’s not the truth.
“The truth is that we are listening to victims and authorities around the country about the need to give them the right tools to tackle it, this very pernicious problem, in their own areas.
“We believe that decisions are best made by those with skin in the game in their own communities, people who live in those communities, who understand what is happening there.”
Ms Nandy said ministers did not want to “impose one system from Whitehall, which might give us a decent press release in the media but doesn’t actually tackle the problem”.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) led by Prof Jay found institutional failings and tens of thousands of victims across England and Wales.
In January, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper vowed to set out a timetable for implementing the recommendations of the inquiry.
A series of “victim-centred, locally led inquiries” in five areas would be among the steps carried out, she said at the time.
Conservative frontbencher Katie Lam was among those asking in the Commons about the future of these inquiries.
“Over three months since the Government announced these local inquiries, Tom Crowther KC, a barrister invited by the Home Office to help establish them, knows almost nothing about their progress, and neither do we,” she told the Commons.
