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The review will consider evidence on grooming gangs
The Scottish government has announced a national review of the evidence on the operation of grooming gangs in Scotland.
It will be carried out by the Care Inspectorate, the Inspectorate of Constabulary and Education, and Healthcare Improvement Scotland – oversight bodies which are independent of the government.
The work will be overseen by grooming gangs expert Professor Alexis Jay, who has also been appointed as the new chair of the Scottish government’s national group on child sex abuse.
The review will inform a future decision on whether or not there should be a judge-led public inquiry.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth told MSPs it will help to provide a more accurate picture of the scale of the issue.
Scottish Labour called a debate on the subject at Holyrood and its leader Anas Sarwar welcomed the review.
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Anas Sarwar welcomed the review into evidence of grooming gangs in Scotland
However, the Scottish Conservatives said this “does not go far enough” and called for a full public inquiry.
Ministers have previously said they think more evidence is required.
The Scottish government has invited party leaders to attend a meeting with Prof Alexis Jay and Police Scotland to hear more about the issue of grooming gangs.
It is expected to take place in the new year, with members of Holyrood’s education and justice committees also asked to take part.
‘Robust systems’
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar told BBC Scotland News he welcomed the news “even though it’s taken far too long”.
“We know there are grooming gangs in Scotland,” he said. “We know there are victims of grooming gangs in Scotland.
“We’ve got to do absolutely everything to make sure we have robust systems in place to make sure those historic cases have been dealt with appropriately and that any existing or future cases will be dealt with appropriately.”
Sarwar added: “Having this independent review with independent oversight is really important.
“But if that review comes back and says we must have an inquiry, then we must have an inquiry.”
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Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay called for a full public inquiry into grooming gangs
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: “The SNP have finally been shamed into taking action but this doesn’t go far enough, and grooming gang victims won’t be fooled or fobbed off.
“We will continue to press John Swinney and his justice secretary to deliver a full and fearless independent inquiry into the scale of grooming gang activity in Scotland.”
In September, Findlay’s party tried to add an amendment to the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Bill calling for a grooming gangs inquiry, which was rejected by the government.
During First Minister’s Questions last month, Findlay highlighted the case of an anonymous woman who wrote to John Swinney to tell her story, which included claims of being given alcohol and drugs and being sexually abused by 10 Pakistani men.
Swinney confirmed he had received the woman’s letter and said the Scottish government “remained open” to a grooming gangs inquiry.
In February this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer commissioned Dame Louise Casey to evaluate the scale, nature and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse at a national and local level.
In her review, Dame Louise recommended a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation in England and Wales.
Sir Keir accepted the recommendation and said it was “the right thing to do” based on what she had uncovered in her review.
Called the Independent Commission on Grooming Gangs, the inquiry in England and Wales will have legal powers to direct targeted investigations in local areas and summon witnesses to give evidence.
The UK government said a panel of abuse survivors would be given a central role in the inquiry, however four resigned in October in protest at how the government had handled the process so far.
