Ongoing
· Chair: Baroness Anne Longfield
· Established December 2025
· Commissioned by Home Office
Statutory inquiry into grooming gangs and group-based child sexual exploitation in England and Wales.
More about this inquiry
Statutory inquiry into grooming gangs and group-based child sexual exploitation in England and Wales. Chaired by Baroness Anne Longfield CBE with panellists Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE. Final terms of reference published 31 March 2026; formally laid before Parliament and inquiry begins 13 April 2026. Examines institutional failures by police, local authorities, health services, social care and schools. Will consider ethnicity, religion and culture of perpetrators and victims. Oldham confirmed as first local investigation area. Public hearings will be livestreamed with findings published as work progresses. Criminal conduct referrals to Operation Beaconport. Expected to conclude by March 2029 within £65m budget.
Written QuestionHouse of CommonsKatie Lam · Conservative
Asked: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what material support, including provision of documentary evidence, her Department will provide to the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs during the course of its work.
Answered by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: MHCLG is fully committed to supporting the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs and will co-operate with the Inquiry throughout the course of its work. In accordance with its legal obligations and the Inquiry’s procedures, my department will respond to requests for information and provide relevant material as required.
Written QuestionHouse of CommonsKatie Lam · Conservative
Asked: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what meetings she has had with (1) Baroness Longfield, (2) any other members of the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs’ panel, or (3) any other interested parties, on the topic of the Inquiry’s …
Answered by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: The Secretary of State has not had any meetings with interested external parties, including Baroness Longfield and other panel members, regarding the progress of the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs since her reappointment to the department on 20 July. We cannot account for her time prior to this.
Written QuestionHouse of LordsBaroness Anelay of St Johns · Conservative
Asked: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress of the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs.
Answered by Home Office: I meet regularly with the Chair of the Inquiry to monitor progress.The final Terms of Reference were published for the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs on 31 March and the Inquiry was formally established on 13 April 2026, under the Inquiries Act 2005. The Inquiry is time-limited for 3 years and a budget of £65 million. It has powers to …
Written Ministerial StatementHouse of LordsLord Hanson of Flint · Labour
Statement: My rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department (Shabana Mahmood) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement:Today, marks one year since the publication of Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and one year since this …
Written Ministerial StatementHouse of CommonsShabana Mahmood · Labour
Statement: Today, marks one year since the publication of Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse and one year since this Government accepted all 12 recommendations. This was a landmark report, exposing more than a decade of inaction in the face of …
Written Ministerial StatementHouse of LordsLord Hanson of Flint · Labour
Statement: I would like to correct an error in my written statement on 13 April 2026 on the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs (HLWS1495). The original statement outlined that the criteria used to select local areas of investigation will be agreed between the Government and the …