Telford council denies MP's claim that 'no lessons will be learned' from CSE inquiry

Dozens of recommendations for Telford and Wrekin Council were set out by Tom Crowther KC in the Independent Inquiry into Telford Child Sexual Exploitation (IITCSE) report.

The report, which was published in 2022, came after it was discovered more than 1,000 children had been abused in Telford since the 1980s.

In an update to the changes made the council had made following the independent inquiry report, the authority said earlier this month that it remained "cautiously confident".

It added that was "making solid progress" to meet Mr Crowther's recommendations.

However Telford MP Lucy Allen has criticised the council's actions since the report was commissioned and says she believes it will lead to "no lessons" being learned.

She said: "As Telford's elected member of Parliament, I have received no briefing nor any other information to allow me to scrutinise the work of the council.

"This leads me and victims to fear that no lessons will be learned from this excellent inquiry report."

She also said only "media pressure" led to the council publishing its comments on its update on its website

However, the concerns by the MP, who announced last month she is stepping down from her Telford seat at the next elected, have been denied by the council.

A spokesperson from Telford & Wrekin Council said: “We have published papers which detail the current position around child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the borough and the progress made against the independent inquiry recommendations on our website in readiness for debate at our Full Council meeting on July 13.

“As well as those recommendations relating to the establishment of the Joint CSE Review Group and the data and profiling we have published, we have also completed actions relating to licensing (taxi licensing and the night-time economy in particular), education, children's services (including a commitment to the continued investment of our specialist CATE team) and council policies such as the management of complaints around CSE."

The council added that it followed its usual procedure for publishing comments on its website "one week and a day in advance of the council meeting itself".