Telford CSE reports suggest council was not 'champion' on issue, claims expert

The findings of an independent inquiry into cases dating back many years will be published today, examining Telford & Wrekin Council's response to an issue.

A previous Ofsted report described the authority as a "champion" in its role in tackling the issue, but Kathleen Hallisey, senior associate at Hugh James Solicitors, believes media reports from 2018 suggest otherwise.

She said: "In April 2018, following widespread media reports that child sexual exploitation (CSE) was rife in Telford and Wrekin, the council commissioned an independent inquiry.

"The inquiry listed several issues to be examined including the nature and extent of CSE in the area, the impact on victims and survivors and their families, the response of third-party organisations to CSE, such as the council itself, police, the NHS and others.

"Notably, the inquiry stated that it would consider previous reviews of CSE in Telford and Wrekin including a 2016 report by Ofsted that found the council’s services for CSE was strong and it was a champion for tackling the issue.

"We’ve seen similar inquiries in Rotherham, Rochdale, and most recently Oldham. IICSA released its report on CSE nationally in February 2022. Unsurprisingly, the findings of the IICSA report echoed those of the other inquiries. Victims and survivors were labelled and blamed and often criminalised.

"Police forces feared being caught up in a national scandal like Rotherham or Rochdale, and instead denied the scale of the problem. Third party organisations described CSE as a waning, non-recent problem when in fact it was a growing crisis.

"We expect that the Telford inquiry will make recommendations similar to those made by IICSA in February this year; for example that the Sentencing Act 2020 should be amended to include CSE as an aggravating factor, and that the Government should update its guidance on CSE.

"Those recommendations are of course important, but it will be of particular interest to see the inquiry’s conclusions and potential recommendations about previous reviews, including the 2016 Ofsted report that Telford & Wrekin was a champion in tackling CSE, when the media reports from 2018 that led to this inquiry seemed to indicate otherwise."

Telford's MP Lucy Allan, speaking on the eve of the publication, said she wanted there to be better understanding of the underlying causes of the crime and to ensure a change in the culture and attitudes of those in authority towards the victims.

"I hope that the publication of this Inquiry will provide reassurance to victims in Telford and the wider community that their experiences have been properly understood and the causes of this horrific crime properly scrutinised," she said.

Seven men were jailed in 2012 for sex abuse crimes as part of West Mercia Police's Operation Chalice. Officers said then that the total number of girls targeted between 2007 and 2009 could be above 100.