{"id":551288,"date":"2025-11-05T19:04:27","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T19:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/551288\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T19:04:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T19:04:27","slug":"government-issues-statement-on-oldham-grooming-gangs-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/551288\/","title":{"rendered":"Government issues statement on Oldham grooming gangs inquiry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Home Office minister Jess Phillips has given an updateJess Phillips(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

The government has given an update on proposed plans for an investigation into grooming gangs in Oldham.<\/a><\/p>\n

Oldham was one of five areas where, in January this year, the then Home Secretary Yvette Cooper promised a local investigation into the issue.<\/p>\n

A full national statutory inquiry was then announced in June. The government has said it will ”direct targeted local reviews in specific areas.’ The move was welcomed by Oldham Council <\/a>leader Arooj Shah.<\/p>\n

The town hall had already begun preparations for its investigation, which was due to be led by Tom Crowther KC, who worked on the Telford Inquiry.<\/p>\n

However the Manchester Evening News reported at the time that the local inquiry may have to be paused<\/a> as the government and council worked out how to ‘avoid duplication.’<\/p>\n

Join the Manchester Evening News <\/strong>WhatsApp<\/strong> group <\/strong>HERE<\/a><\/p>\n

In an update issued on the issue yesterday (Tuesday, November 4), Home Office minister Jess Phillips said that it was the government’s plan to consult the chair of the national inquiry, once they are appointed, and that further details about the ‘approach for Oldham’ would be made public ‘in due course’.<\/p>\n

In a written question to the Home Office, tabled on October 29, the Shadow Home Secretary, the Conservatives’ Chris Philp, asked the Secretary of State for the home department ‘what discussions she has had with Oldham Council on the potential starting date for its inquiry into grooming gangs operating in Oldham’.<\/p>\n

Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp quizzed the Home Office on the latest in Oldham(Image: PA)<\/p>\n

In a response published on parliament’s official website, Labour’s Jess Phillips, who has been the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls since the summer of last year, said: “In June this year, Baroness Casey published her independent audit into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, and the Government accepted every recommendation it made, including establishing a new national inquiry.<\/p>\n

“The national inquiry, equipped with statutory powers under the Inquiries Act 2005, will direct targeted local reviews in specific areas. The former Home Secretary made a specific commitment to support Oldham Council in undertaking their own local inquiry.<\/p>\n

“The Department has been discussing the right approach for Oldham\u2019s inquiry with Oldham Council, given the Government\u2019s commitment to a new national inquiry.<\/p>\n

“We also intend to consult the prospective chair of the national inquiry once appointed and will confirm the proposed approach for Oldham alongside further details about the national inquiry in due course.”<\/p>\n

No chair for the national inquiry has yet been announced. A number of survivors of child sexual exploitation (CSE) were invited to join a panel to help steer the national inquiry’s direction, after it was announced in June.<\/p>\n

However last month several women quit the panel <\/a>with a number of those involved criticising the government for its handling.<\/p>\n

Survivors have blasted the choice of chairpeople, with the two shortlisted candidates reported to be a former police chief and a social worker, described as a \u2018disturbing conflict of interest\u2019 due to the role of GMP and social workers in some of the alleged failures to intervene in cases of suspected grooming.<\/p>\n

One former panel member also took issue with the \u2018widening of the remit\u2019 beyond grooming gangs, which Ms Phillips has denied.<\/p>\n

Ms Phillips told parliament then: “We will continue to progress. I will engage with the survivors and continue to listen to those who have been put in the media, that are put in panels. I will always listen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home Office minister Jess Phillips has given an updateJess Phillips(Image: PA) The government has given an update on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":551289,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,7779,2465,1286,14984,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-551288","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-house-of-commons","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-oldham","14":"tag-oldham-council","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115498652426875253","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/551289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}