The national programme of work brings together national accountability hearings, analysis, and evidence from across England and Wales to examine how systems responded, why they failed, and what needs to change.
As part of this work, the Inquiry will hold national accountability hearings. These are a vital part of the inquiry.
The starting point for these hearings is the large number of previous reviews and inquiries into grooming gangs over the past 20 years. These have produced more than 800 recommendations. The Inquiry is examining what was implemented, what was not, and why meaningful change did not always follow.
Through these hearings, organisations will be required to explain what they did, what they did not do, and why recommendations were not consistently put into practice. Using its statutory powers under the Inquiries Act 2005, the Inquiry may compel witnesses to give evidence and require organisations to provide documents. These hearings will take place in public and be live streamed online.
The hearings will focus on organisations and individuals responsible for the systems that should have protected children and supported victims and survivors. This includes government departments, policing bodies, the Crown Prosecution Service, local authorities, the NHS, and other national and local organisations.
The national accountability hearings will take place in stages. They will:
- examine how national systems and institutions responded
- assess how previous recommendations were implemented in practice
- investigate the role of the online world in enabling exploitation
The Inquiry will test what it hears in these hearings against evidence from local investigations and information gathered from across England and Wales. This will help establish whether changes have taken place in practice, not just on paper.
Where failures are identified, the Inquiry will hold organisations and individuals to account. The Inquiry will make recommendations as work progresses and will continue to track whether change is being delivered. Towards the end of the Inquiry, it will assess whether that work has been carried out in practice.
What the national work involves
The national work will look at:
- patterns of offending across England and Wales
- how grooming gangs operated, and how they were identified or not identified
- how organisations and systems, including police, councils, social services, and national bodies, responded
- how organisations responded when children were at risk or abuse was reported
- why previous recommendations from reviews and inquiries were not consistently put into practice
- how evidence from local investigations helps test how national systems and accountability operate
- what needs to change at a national level to better protect children in the future
The Inquiry will draw on existing evidence, previous inquiries and reviews, data from public bodies, and new evidence gathered through its own work.
We will publish our findings and updates as we go, rather than waiting until the end of the Inquiry.
How local and national work fit together
Local investigations and national accountability hearings are parts of the same work. They inform each other.
Local investigations and national accountability hearings are parts of the same work, informing each other to build a clear national picture and final recommendations. What happens locally helps us test whether national systems worked in practice, and what we hear nationally will be tested against real experiences on the ground. This is how the Inquiry will assess whether meaningful change has taken place, and where it has not, why not and what means to change
How victims and survivors can take part
The Inquiry wants to hear from people across England and Wales throughout its work. All relevant information and evidence will help inform our work. Not being in a confirmed local investigation area does not mean your experience is any less important.
You can share your experience regardless of where you live. You will not be required to give formal evidence unless you want to. There are different ways to get involved, and support is available at every stage.
Details of how to share information will be published shortly.
If you wish to share information, please register your interest via the Contact page.
More local areas to be confirmed
The first local investigations are taking place in Oldham, Bradford and Keighley, and London. These are the start of the Inquiry’s investigative programme, not the end of it.
Further local areas will be selected as the Inquiry continues, using our published selection criteria and emerging evidence.