Meeting of the Parliament 03 December 2025
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 independence of Police Scotland and the chief constable in dealing with operational matters, as that can often get lost in the narrative.
The crucial information and data that is being gathered by members of the strategic group is necessary to ensure that informed, evidence-based decisions are taken on the need for further independent inquiries following the review that we are now committed to. The group is already working at pace to identify abuse, to understand its prevalence and to improve data collection and the co-ordination of responses by all agencies to this abhorrent crime.
The First Minister, the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, and the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise have met Police Scotland regularly, and the NCSAE group, to discuss the prevalence of these issues in Scotland. I was pleased to receive an invitation from the education secretary, along with members of the Criminal Justice Committee and the Education, Children and Young People Committee, to meet Professor Jay and Police Scotland in the new year.
The Labour motion calls for us to clarify our position on grooming gangs, and I hope that it now has that clarification. The Conservative amendment makes an outright call for an inquiry, but it has not outlined what shape or form such an inquiry should take.
To be clear, the UK Government is not carrying out a national inquiry into grooming gangs; rather, it is undertaking a targeted regional inquiry, in which five local investigations are being conducted into areas of concern. In February, the UK Government established the national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse—the Baroness Casey review—to evaluate the scale, nature and drivers of exploitation. It reported in June 2025, and that led to the UK Government announcing an independent commission on grooming gangs. The commission has not yet been established, and a chair has not yet been appointed.
As we know, Liam Kerr lodged an amendment to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill that provided for the victims and witnesses commissioner to carry out research into group-based child sexual exploitation. He likened the proposed research to the Casey review and said that it would help to build a national picture of what is known about grooming gangs in Scotland.
Our rejection of that particular ask has been portrayed by the Conservatives as a vote by my party against tackling grooming gangs. That misinformation has been incredibly troubling to all of us who care about the welfare of children. Nothing could be further from the truth, and I really regret the extent to which the issue has been politicised. Surely we should be working together—[Interruption.]