Campaigners met government officials months ago to urge them to implement recommendations from the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales, but said no progress had been made until recent days.
One campaigner who was present at the meeting with Home Office officials in September to ask why the recommendations had not been implemented accused the government of a “kneejerk reaction” and said it had been pushed into action by the political storm sparked by Elon Musk’s posts on X about grooming gangs. “We’ve been trying to get the government interested in implementing the recommendations for months and, lo and behold, Elon Musk turns up and something happens,” they said.
Last Monday the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, committed to introducing three key changes demanded by IICSA, which concluded in 2022.
Cooper pledged to implement IICSA’s proposals for a mandatory reporting regime for child sexual abuse, improved data collection and lengthened prison sentences for groomers. But there has so far been no commitment on other recommendations.
A government source said work on these measures predated the row ignited by Musk’s posts on X and that progress on recommendations made by IICSA were also discussed at a ministerial meeting in December.
On Saturday a government spokesperson said that it would set up a “victims’ and survivors’ panel” to advise on the implementation of IICSA’s recommendations.
Labour has been attacked by the Conservatives and Reform UK for rejecting calls for a new national inquiry into grooming gangs, while the Tories have been accused of failing to take action demanded by IICSA when they were in government.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This government is focused on delivering meaningful change for victims impacted by these horrendous crimes and has wasted no time in working through the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse’s recommendations and implementing them.
“Ministers have been working across government and engaging with a number of partners, including survivors’ groups and campaigners, to drive this forward with a renewed focus. We will also set up a victims’ and survivors’ panel to guide us on the design and implementation of new proposals.”
Grooming gangs were one area of focus of the seven-year IICSA, which ended in 2022. Only a handful of its recommendations were taken forward by the Conservative government.
IICSA’s chair, Prof Alexis Jay, who also led a separate 2014 investigation into the Rotherham grooming scandal, has called for action rather than further inquiries.
She criticised the “politicisation of child sexual exploitation” in an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme last Tuesday.
She said: “I’m pleased that the subject matter and the inquiry recommendations are finally getting the attention they deserve, but this is definitely not the way I would have chosen for it to happen.”
When asked whether Musk’s posts had forced the government to act, Jay said the recent attention might have sped up action on IICSA’s demands but that she had already been “interacting with the government”.
Speaking to the Observer, Sarah Champion, the Labour MP for Rotherham, said she would be pushing the government to act on all IICSA’s recommendations.
“For all the people I have spoken to, it just feels like once again we’re letting them down,” she said. “I don’t want an inquiry that will kick everything into the long grass – I want action.”
Related: Does UK need another national inquiry into rape and sexual abuse gangs?
Champion said the existing system for compensating victims of child sexual abuse was “particularly poor”, with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority currently demanding claims be made within two years of an offence unless “exceptional circumstances” can be proved.
The rules on claimants’ criminal convictions have also caused grooming gang victims to be refused compensation.
IICSA called for the creation of a new compensation scheme for victims. The Conservatives promised a consultation on this but did not set it up, reportedly because of predicted financial costs.
Last week the Financial Times reported compensation for victims could cost the government between £5bn and £10bn, according to Whitehall estimates.
A Home Office spokesperson said it was doing further work on IICSA’s remaining recommendations and was focused on “meaningful change” for victims.
“We are working at pace to go through the details of all the recommendations from IICSA, including evaluating costs of implementing them,” they said.