“Time for action on grooming & child abuse, not just words” – Nia Griffith MP

Dame Nia Griffith has issued a statement in support of the immediate action that promises to implement recommendations to ensure that the taskforce that deals with grooming gangs is accelerated. In her statement, Nia Griffith said:

“Child sexual abuse and exploitation are the most vile and horrific of crimes. Perpetrators must be punished and pursued, no matter who they are, and victims and survivors must be better protected and supported.

“Before I became involved in politics, I was instrumental in establishing Carmarthenshire Women’s Aid to help victims of those affected by physical, sexual and other forms of abuse and throughout my time as Member of Parliament for Llanelli I have continued, and will continue, to support and assist many individual victims and survivors as well as campaigning and fighting for all those who have been targeted.

“We have already had two wide ranging inquiries into grooming gangs, the first by the Home Office in 2020, the second an Independent Enquiry into Child Abuse lasting seven years and costing £186m which heard from thousands of victims and survivors.

“To date, none of the recommendations from those inquiries have actually been implemented. The Tories did not implement a single recommendation in over 10 years. The focus must now be on providing the resources for this to be done and to bring the perpetrators of these horrendous crimes to justice.

“I support the immediate action promised to implement key recommendations below from the independent reports and to ensure that the Grooming Gangs Taskforce work is accelerated in addition to the 25% increase in arrests seen already between July and September last year.

• Legislating to make it mandatory to report abuse, making it an offence with professional and criminal sanctions to fail to report or to cover up child sexual abuse.

• Legislating to make grooming an aggravating factor in the sentencing of child sexual offences, to ensure the punishment fits the terrible crime.

• Overhauling the way information and evidence is gathered on child sexual abuse by introducing a ‘single child identifier’ and through a strengthened police performance framework, with new standards on public protection, child abuse and exploitation.

“The amendment put forward last night would not have resulted in any inquiry being commissioned and those who are trying to say this is the case are being deliberately misleading.

“As a result of Parliamentary procedure, had the amendment been successful, it would instead have resulted in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill being defeated. Rather than table their amendment at a later stage, which would not threaten the Bill, they callously pressed ahead with a political stunt anyway.

‘This is a crucial bill, encompassing many important, much needed child protection measures and I could not, and would not, sacrifice the needs of some of our most vulnerable people by supporting a proposal, merely put forward by the Tories as part of a desperate and cynical attempt at political pointscoring. 

“That is why I voted against the amendment and why I remain determined that victims and survivors of this abuse should be our priority.

“I will continue to campaign for the laws around this to be strengthened, for recommendations of independent inquiries to taken forward, for stronger action against perpetrators and for greater protection of victims.”