'Lack of independence' claim over Telford council's work on child sexual exploitation

An inquiry into CSE in the borough was completed in the summer and made 47 recommendations, not just for the council but for health and other agencies to get on with.

But Tory Councillor Tim Nelson attacked the plans for not being "open and transparent".

"We cannot give a fully considered opinion at short notice," said Councillor Nelson at a meeting of the borough's Labour-led cabinet on Thursday. "It is somewhat rushed."

He said an urgent report to the cabinet meeting contained spelling mistakes and was difficult to understand.

Councillor Nelson said groups set up to run the follow-up work were not "fully independent" of the council. Groups contain council officers, who would be reporting on issues to the council.

This, said Councillor Nelson, was creating a 'circular' situation, which meant that the Conservative group would be "reserving our position" on actions being taken.

Labour council leader Councillor Shaun Davies said he had accepted an urgent item onto Thursday's agenda so that they could get on with taking action.

"I accept that the Conservative group does not want to be a part of this but it does not mean they have a veto on it," he said.

Councillor Davies said governance of the actions mirror other arrangements in the council.

He said the final decision on whether recommendations had been properly followed was the inquiry's independent chair, Tom Crowther KC.

"It will be for him to decide if all the recommendations have been implemented. But he added that he wanted to keep the momentum going in the issue.

"If we don't move on today there will be another delay," said Councillor Davies.

Councillor Lee Carter, the cabinet member for neighbourhood services, regeneration and the high street, said: "I hope we are not going to get into politics on this. We are not going to delay, we are going to get on with it."

He added that his ambition was for Telford & Wrekin to be the "best in the country" for tackling CSE.

Actions approved by councillors include involving survivors of child sexual exploitation in their follow-up work.

They are set to appoint an independent chair and independent facilitator for the subject's Strategic Implementation Group and also an independent chair for the CSE Partners Group.

The cabinet has also agreed to fund the CATE (Children Abused Through Exploitation) team "for as long as the administration is in place".

One of the recommendations also being looked into is the implementation of CCTV in taxis. The first CCTV system has recently been installed in one vehicle which operates regularly from outside Pussycats Nighclub in Wellington.

The licensing team is continuing to engage with drivers and operators to increase take up of CCTV installation as part of the pilot. The outcome of the pilot scheme will help to influence next steps and inform the consultation with the trade, as set out in the recommendation.