In December 2025, the government confirmed further details about a new statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs.

The inquiry has been established to examine how children and young people were harmed through group-based sexual exploitation, how institutions failed to protect them, and what action is needed to ensure these failures are not repeated.

Below, we set out what has been announced so far, including who will lead the inquiry, what powers it will have, and how it is expected to operate.

What is the inquiry?

The inquiry is a statutory independent inquiry, set up under the Inquiries Act. This means it has full legal powers and operates independently of government.

Its purpose is to examine:

• How children and young people were harmed by grooming gangs
• How and why institutions failed to protect them
• Whether there were wrongdoing, missed opportunities or cover-ups by authorities
• What needs to change to prevent this happening again

The inquiry will focus specifically on group-based child sexual exploitation, often referred to as grooming gangs.

Who will lead the inquiry?

The inquiry will be chaired by Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, a former Children’s Commissioner for England.

She will be supported by two panellists:

• Zoë Billingham CBE, with experience in holding policing bodies to account
• Eleanor Kelly CBE, with senior experience in local government systems

Together, the three-person panel brings experience in children’s safeguarding, policing oversight and local authority decision-making.

Baroness Louise Casey, who carried out a recent national audit into grooming gangs, will act as an adviser to the inquiry.

How long will the inquiry last?

The government has said the inquiry must be completed within three years.

This time limit has been set in response to concerns that victims and survivors have waited too long in the past for answers and accountability.

What powers will the inquiry have?

As a statutory inquiry, it will have the power to:

• Require witnesses to give evidence
• Compel organisations to provide documents and records
• Investigate the actions of police, councils, social services and other agencies
• Make findings and recommendations at both local and national level

If the inquiry uncovers evidence that could support criminal prosecutions, this information will be passed to the police.

Will the inquiry look at specific areas?

Yes. The Chair will be able to direct local investigations in areas where serious failures are suspected. One area specifically mentioned by the government is Oldham, though others may follow.

These local investigations will look at how agencies responded at the time and whether safeguarding systems failed children and young people.

What will the inquiry focus on?

The government has confirmed that the inquiry will:

• Focus exclusively on grooming gangs
• Examine how ethnicity, religion and cultural factors affected both: The behaviour of perpetrators, and The responses (or lack of response) from authorities

This reflects concerns raised in previous reports that difficult issues were sometimes avoided, contributing to institutional failures.

How will victims and survivors be involved?

The inquiry panel has said that victims and survivors will be involved throughout the process.

The inquiry is expected to be victim-centred and trauma-informed.

This means survivors’ experiences should be treated with care, respect and sensitivity, and their voices placed at the centre of the investigation.

How is the inquiry being funded?

The government has committed £65 million to the inquiry.

In addition, further funding has been announced to support wider work on grooming gangs, including:

• Funding for police forces to review previously closed cases
• Support for a national police operation, Operation Beaconport, which is reviewing historic investigations
• Investment in support services for victims and survivors
• New research into perpetrators’ backgrounds and motivations

What else is the government doing alongside the inquiry?

Alongside the inquiry, the government has announced:

• A national review of hundreds of previously closed grooming and exploitation investigations
• Closer working between the inquiry and police, so that evidence can be shared where criminal charges may be possible
• An automatic disregard scheme for convictions and cautions linked to so-called “child prostitution”, to remove unjust criminal records from survivors

These measures are intended to address both past failures and future safeguarding.

What happens next?

The draft terms of reference for the inquiry will now be consulted on. These set out exactly what the inquiry will examine and how it will operate.

A draft terms of reference usually explains:

• What issues the inquiry will investigate
• What time periods and events it will cover
• Which organisations or bodies may be examined
• What questions the inquiry is trying to answer
• How evidence will be gathered, including from witnesses and documents
• How victims and survivors can be involved
• What the inquiry can and cannot do

The government has said the final terms of reference will be confirmed by March.

Once finalised, the inquiry will formally begin its work.

Support for survivors

Updates about inquiries can bring up difficult memories and emotions. Support is available, and survivors are not expected to engage with the inquiry unless and until they feel ready.

If you would like legal advice about your options, or simply want to talk through what this inquiry might mean for you, confidential support is available from our experienced solicitors .