Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 03 December 2025
03 Dec 2025 · S6 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse
As I have set out to Parliament today, the Government has to analyse the evidence that is put before us. As Alexis Jay has said, and as we have heard from Ms McNeill, we do not yet have the evidence base to substantiate that decision. However, I reassure the member that that is under active consideration.
I highlight that we should not forget that, in Scotland, we have a live public inquiry, which is already hearing directly from survivors of child sexual abuse. Although it is, quite rightly, a matter for Lady Smith and the Scottish child abuse inquiry to determine how to take into account potential group-based sexual abuse, in cases where any conduct that constitutes grooming is alleged, the inquiry can, if the circumstances allow it, consider whether those cases are within the inquiry’s terms of reference.
The national review that I have announced today, alongside Professor Jay’s leadership of the national strategic group and Police Scotland’s on-going work, will provide a more accurate and focused picture of the scale of and response to group-based sexual harm in Scotland. That will ensure that informed and evidence-based decisions can be taken on the need for further independent inquiries and reviews.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing)
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-19980, in the name of Pauline McNeill, on transparency in tackling group-based child sexual exploitation ...
Pauline McNeill (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
Grooming vulnerable children for sexual exploitation is one of the most heinous crimes that can be committed, but for that to be compounded by systematic fai...
The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth)
SNP
The sexual exploitation and abuse of children and young people in Scotland is, sadly, not a historical issue. As we have heard, it is a challenging and compl...
Pauline McNeill
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
Yes. I am happy to give way.
Pauline McNeill
Lab
I appreciate that, given the time. Can the cabinet secretary confirm that she regards the process as an independent review, given that Professor Jay, whom w...
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
I give Ms McNeill my assurance that the inspectorates are independent of ministers, so that is my understanding. I reassure Ms McNeill that Professor Jay has...
Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
Does that mean that the Government will reject Russell Findlay’s amendment calling for a grooming gangs inquiry?
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
As I have set out to Parliament today, the Government has to analyse the evidence that is put before us. As Alexis Jay has said, and as we have heard from Ms...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Please conclude, cabinet secretary.
Jenny Gilruth
SNP
Above all, we must remember that this is about better protecting Scotland’s children and young people from abuse. I hope that Parliament will support the Gov...
Russell Findlay (West Scotland) (Con)
Con
A “conspiracy of silence”—that was the phrase that was used by journalist Andrew Norfolk, who, in 2011, uncovered what became known as the grooming gangs sca...
Maggie Chapman (North East Scotland) (Green)
Green
As the cabinet secretary said, the issue that we are debating—the sexual exploitation and abuse of children and young people—is not only an historic issue; i...
Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD)
LD
I thank Pauline McNeill and Labour for enabling this debate to happen. Some of the issues that we are discussing were touched on in yesterday’s debate on vio...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
We move to the open debate. 16:26
Martin Whitfield (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
It is a pleasure—unfortunately—to take part in the debate and to see how far the Scottish Government has moved. I thank the previous speaker for articulating...
The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs (Angela Constance)
SNP
I am grateful to Martin Whitfield for giving way. I advise him and others that, when I look at the Official Report of those remarks, I cannot see that I stat...
Martin Whitfield
Lab
I am very grateful for that intervention, but, again—and I say this with respect, because I have huge respect for the cabinet secretary—that is not an answer...
Audrey Nicoll (Aberdeen South and North Kincardine) (SNP)
SNP
I begin by acknowledging the cabinet secretary’s update on the appointment of Professor Alexis Jay as independent chair of the national child sexual abuse an...
Davy Russell (Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse) (Lab)
Lab
As colleagues have already noted, this issue is fundamentally about transparency and clarity. We have seen from the Casey report in England and Wales that t...
Sharon Dowey (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
This is a subject of considerable importance. When the Government voted down our amendment to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill that...
Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (SNP)
SNP
I thank the Labour Party for securing this important and topical debate. At any level, sexual exploitation of children is one of the most abhorrent crimes...
Russell Findlay
Con
Will the member take an intervention?
Rona Mackay
SNP
No, thank you. That is a hugely important piece of work for many people, despite what Russell Findlay says. It is always important to recognise the indepen...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Members.
Rona Mackay
SNP
Surely we should be working together to eradicate this vile crime and gather much-needed evidence, rather than squabbling and scoring political points. I lo...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I advise members that we have a little bit of time in hand, so I can be a wee bit generous with members’ times. I call Liam Kerr to close the debate on beha...
Liam Kerr (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I have been shocked and stunned listening to the debate, partly from hearing some of the horrific details of this most heinous and vile of crimes. Russell Fi...
Audrey Nicoll
SNP
Will the member give way?
Liam Kerr
Con
I will not take an intervention, because I am running out of time. Decision time is still 10 or 12 minutes away. There is still time for those MSPs to recon...