Keighley MP: 'Incredibly frustrating' that agencies aren't backing an independent inquiry into CSE
It's after a damning review was published this summer looking at the issue across the Bradford District over the last 20 years
Keighley's MP, Robbie Moore, says it's incredibly frustrating that agencies aren't backing his calls for an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in the district.
It's after a damning review was published this summer looking at the issue across the Bradford District over the last 20 years.
Keighley’s MP Robbie Moore said:
“Since becoming Keighley’s MP, I have heard abhorrent stories from victims of child sexual exploitation and grooming gangs. These are vile and disgusting crimes. It is high time this issue was finally tackled once and for all. That is why I am calling on Bradford Council to launch an independent ‘Rotherham-style’ inquiry into child sexual abuse so these issues can be looked at independently, bring this criminal minority to justice, and protect children and young people. I will also raise these issues in Parliament. It is my firm view that in order to move forward we need to understand the true scale of this issue. A Review which only looks at 5 children just isn’t good enough. This is just the tip of the iceberg.”
The MP will hold a personal debate in parliament this month on the issue.
He said:
“There are some who say we should just sweep this issue under the carpet – they are wrong. If we fail to address child sexual exploitation, and properly understand the scale of the problem, the very worst of humanity will exploit it for their own gain. This happened in 2005, when the far-right BNP made Keighley their No. 1 target seat. We cannot let that happen again. I hope all in positions of influence will call for such an inquiry, including the Leader of Bradford Council and our new West Yorkshire Mayor, who has responsibility for policing across West Yorkshire. ”
Jane Booth, Independent Chair of The Bradford Partnership – Working Together to Safeguard Children, said:
“Child sexual exploitation is a national issue, and like many local authorities, we know that agencies in our district have made mistakes in the past. We commissioned the review to look in detail at multi-agency responses to CSE and how we can work with our partners to learn from the past. It is an extremely detailed and thorough review carried out by an independent author. It not only looks in great depth at five cases, but also looks at other reviews carried out in Bradford as well as national learning and best practice and is part of a wider process of scrutiny, challenge and learning that the district undertakes.
“We have also had independent scrutiny from Ofsted which has said that processes in the District to protect young people from this crime are good. But we know that protecting children requires a multi-agency approach and we are continually looking at how we can improve practice so that they can keep children safer.
“Local agencies are committed to continued development and they have all welcomed this review and are actively looking to improve the way they work. There is a consensus amongst agencies that investing in developing our services and how we work together to protect children is the best use of resource. A public inquiry would cost a huge amount of money, use precious officer time, and is unlikely to provide us with any new learning that would better protect children from being abused.”
Bradford District Commander Chief Superintendent Daniel Greenwood, said: “The exploitation and abuse of a child is an abhorrent crime and we are committed to working with our partners and communities in order to protect children, support victims and bring those responsible to justice.
“We have made significant improvements and investments into tackling CSEA, and have changed and adapted policies following the reviews of cases and national guidance. We have robust governance and accountability arrangements across the partnership which allow us to continue to review and learn, in order to improve our practice.
“We have had a number of successful outcomes at court involving perpetrators being given lengthy prison sentences and continue to work tirelessly to bring offenders to justice. In addition to this we have a number of ongoing criminal cases. I want anyone who has suffered or suspects someone has suffered abuse to have the confidence to report these matters to us – we will treat all victims seriously, sensitively and give them our full support.”
Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, the Leader of Bradford Council, said: “Child sexual exploitation is a hideous crime. It’s not confined to Bradford district, or even West Yorkshire, this is a national issue. Which is why Government set up the national inquiry. We’ve been consistently open and transparent about our work on CSE, both on historic crimes and how we are tackling it now. Bradford referred itself to the national inquiry some time ago and has worked with them.
“Bradford encourages robust scrutiny of its CSE work. The MP seems to infer that this is the only report Bradford district has ever done on CSE, it is not. The independent thematic review published in July is one of a number of reports produced on CSE over a long period of time. We have been publishing reports annually for the last eight years on CSE. These are very detailed and available for anyone to read at any time. Similarly a report goes to the Scrutiny committee annually and further localised reports are scrutinised by area committees for the five constituencies in the Bradford district, including Keighley.
“Bradford has been consistent in the view that a local public enquiry would not be of additional value. We do not believe it would deliver any new learning over and above the many reports we’ve already produced on the subject. It is self-evident that victims were let down by all agencies, particularly in that period before 2010 when the attitudes of public agencies were wrong. No report will ever be enough to put those wrongs done to the victims right. However, we do have a track record of supporting victims to find justice through the courts and will always support the police to prosecute these crimes, no matter when they happened.
“Significant work has been taking place to tackle CSE in our district for many years. In 2012 Bradford launched one of the first multi-agency CSE Hubs in the country. We were referred to in the 2018 Ofsted report as an example of good practice and a new enhanced hub is currently being developed after significant funding from the local authority.
“Protecting children needs a multi-agency approach and all partners are working closely and tirelessly to see how we can improve practice so that they can keep children safe.”