Labour rejects calls for Oldham grooming gang inquiry

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Are Labour right to push the responsibility for carrying out a public inquiry back onto Oldham Council?

I don't understand how it is considered acceptable for local authorities to carry out their own inquiries when they are often part of the institutional failure that allowed these crimes to be carried out on such a large scale over decades. Councils, police and social services were/are all implicated in the failure to act (or to actively obstruct) in some way or another.

"Phillips’ letter to Oldham Council, seen by GB News, claims it is for the the local authority ‘alone to decide to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than for the government to intervene.’ Reports have previously been commissioned and produced in Rochdale, Rotherham and Telford; Oldham now plans to launch its own Telford-style inquiry. Given the strength of feeling – which Phillips acknowledges in her letter – it seems inevitable that there will be questions or debate in the Commons when parliament returns next week."

"Yet for the hundreds of victims and those invested in bringing perpetrators to justice, this will seem pitifully inadequate. In each town where grooming gangs operated, similar patterns emerged: victims were ignored, law enforcement complicit and political officials more concerned about reputational damage than lives affected. Local authorities can hold their own inquiries, of course. But given the scale of these crimes, the fact they took place over decades, in many towns, suggests a level of institutional complicity requiring the attention of central government."

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/labour-rejects-calls-for-oldham-grooming-gang-inquiry/

Archive...

https://archive.ph/3greC#selection-1667.0-1759.570

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I agree, 50 towns, still happening apparently. The problem os so widespread that the government does need to step in. We may also need additional legislation on what happens when child rape or trafficking is reported. An automatic trigger for quick escalation. I think theres a lot wrong and I think it’s going to take a lot to get a handle on.

The headline of that Spectator article is misleading.

There has already been an independent inquiry, published in 2022:
www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/media/6198/final-oldham-assurance-report-8-june-2022-14-digital-version.pdf

Philips letter is about Oldham Council's resolution to carry out an additional inquiry on top of the 2022 one, which Philips is encouraging.

Full text of the letter, in case screenshot is hard to read:

28 October 2024

Dear Mr Catherall

Thank you for your letter of 17 July to the Home Secretary relating to a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham. I am replying as the Minister for Safeguarding and Violence against Women and Girls and I am very sorry for the delay in responding to your letter.

I understand the concerns of Oldham Council regarding the second report of the Greater Manchester Assurance Review, and I recognise the strength of feeling that a further inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham should be undertaken.

Inquiries play an important role in improving our response to child sexual exploitation and abuse. At a national level, the Government is working quickly to identify how we can move forward with the delivery of the recommendations in the Final Report of the Independent inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Beyond that, there are some great examples of independent reviews and inquiries which have been locally commissioned and delivered, such as the Jay Inquiry into Rotherham and the more recent Telford inquiry, which have exposed previous failures and driven real change in local frontline services. The success of these inquiries is due, in part, to the commitment shown by the areas in commissioning them, giving them legitimacy from the outset.

This is why I believe it is for Oldham Council alone to decide to commission an inquiry into child sexual exploitation locally, rather than for the Government to intervene. I welcome the Council’s resolution to do so, as set out in your letter, and to continue its important work with victims and survivors. Should the council choose to proceed, I would look forward to the inquiry’s findings and ensuring that any lessons that can be learnt to improve the frontline response are adopted at a local and, where applicable, national level.

Thank you for taking the time to write to us on this important matter and I wish you every success in your endeavours to improve the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham’s response to this horrific crime.

Yours sincerely
Jess Philips

The letter states that nationally the government is stepping in.

The agreement, which will see Harry Catherall seconded to Tameside four days a week on an interim six-month basis, sees current Assistant Chief Executive Shelley Kipling step up to the Acting CEO role to support the council’s leadership in Harry’s absence.

https://www.oldham.gov.uk/news/article/2729/oldham_appoints_acting_chief_executive_and_offers_senior_leadership_support_to_tameside_council

Maybe there's no one at the rudder in Oldham and they should look carefully again at the options.

Personally I don’t think the decision to commission or not to commission an inquiry should be left to councils. There should be a mandatory inquiry in every town / city where grooming gangs have operated for decades under the eyes of councils and police. Each town will have issues specific to their own area and some of those who might have intervened will still be working never having been held to account.

Labour said before the election that they wanted to half violence against women and girls. How will they ever manage to come close to achieving this whilst still burying their heads in the sand in relation to this ongoing scandal.

entirely predictable. If they look seriously into it then a whole can of ugly worms come to light-at which point they will have to do something about it. Cannot have that now-far too messy and expensive.

I think you might have misread the letter, @lonelywater .

It states Oldham Council has resolved to commission an inquiry, and Jess Philips welcomes it.

I'm surprised the whole grooming gangs thing isn't being more widely discussed on here. It's blowing up on X but on mumsnet it's tumbleweed.

Eh, this isn't true.

It's been widely discussed on MN for years. Including right now: I've seen two threads started today alone.

maybe, but I think the point is that Phillips is ruling out a government level enquiry? Why would that be, I wonder?

For an issue as serious is this I'd have assumed that it would be necessary to set up a statutory inquiry.

It's been widely discussed on MN for years. Including right now: I've seen two threads started today alone.

This is the first one I've seen, and it's hardly particularly active. And I've actually been looking.

Then I wonder why that wasn't done, rather than the independent inquiry.

If it had been set up at the time, the statutory inquiry could have reported by now.

For whatever reason some people seem to be happier with a patchwork of lower level independent inquiries with reduced powers.

These might be appropriate questions to ask of Kemi Badenoch, representing the party that was in power for the last fourteen years.

If Search isn't being helpful, ask any of the longstanding regulars – on FWR or MN more broadly – and they'll reassure you there have been many threads over many years.

Im a long standing regular on FWR and i dont think its talked about that much.

Its often politicised and or used to call users Islamophobic. Maybe this thread will be different.

Yes.

And Philips' letter doesn't rule out a future statutory inquiry covering issues nationwide, if that's likely to be useful.

There was independent inquiry commissioned by Theresa May.

However the recommendations are still to be implemented and since that inquiry grooming of girls is still a massive and current problem. So I agree there should be a statutory inquiry. Councils should never be responsible for there own investigations because councils are not a neutral or objective body.

Enquiries also take years to produce recommendations - is there really significant new information to come out about what happened? What was inadequate about previous enquiries?

Seems more sensible to focus on preventing anything similar happening in the future, although that would assume Musk, Farage and their ilk actually care about the victims, which they don't.

Currently on AIBU: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5242754-gov-refuses-home-office-investigation-into-historic-child-sex-abuse-in-oldham

I agree it's often politicised on the many threads I've read on MN.

I don't know how many threads you feel is "that much". But I've learnt a great deal about it from MN, and this board in particular, where it is discussed in great detail and with a great deal of thoughtful input.

However the recommendations are still to be implemented and since that inquiry grooming of girls is still a massive and current problem. So I agree there should be a statutory inquiry.

So instead of implementing recommendations from an existing inquiry we should hold another one? What would that new inquiry recommend that the previous one didn't?