Dan Peters 13 July 2022

Council apologises for child sexual exploitation

Council apologises for child sexual exploitation image
Image: Deborah Lee Rossiter / Shutterstock.com

Telford & Wrekin Council has apologised ‘wholeheartedly’ after an inquiry concluded more than 1,000 children were sexually exploited over at least 30 years.

The council said it accepted the inquiry’s 47 recommendations for improvement and was already carrying out many of them.

Inquiry chairman Tom Crowther QC said for decades child sexual exploitation (CSE) ‘thrived in Telford unchecked’ and agencies including the council were ‘aware of it in detail,’ adding: ‘Failure by agencies to investigate emboldened offenders; failure to safeguard put children at risk.’

Mr Crowther continued: ‘So far as both the council and WMP [West Mercia Police] were concerned a number of features appear to have contributed to this shocking failure to address CSE: a focus upon abuse within the family, at the expense of extra-familial exploitation; over-caution about acting in the absence of hard evidence – a formal complaint from a child – about exploitation; and a nervousness that investigating concerns against Asian men, in particular, would inflame racial tensions.’

He also criticised the ‘glaring failure on the part of a generation of Telford’s politicians’ not to regard a CSE response as an ‘essential service’ in the period before 2016.

The council pointed out the independent inquiry acknowledged it had made ‘significant improvements in recent years’.

SIGN UP
For your free daily news bulletin
Highways jobs

Residential Worker

Wakefield Council
£32,061.00 to £34,434.00, Grade 7.
We are looking for a Full-Time Children's Residential Worker to join our team at Clarence Children's Home in Wakefield Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recuriter: Wakefield Council

Community Development Officer

The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead
£32,962 - £36,791 per annum
We have an exciting opportunity for a Community Development Officer to join us! Maidenhead, Berkshire / Multiple
Recuriter: The Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead

Telecare Responder

Durham County Council
Grade 6 £28,142 to £31,022 per annum
Could you respond to emergency calls, gain access and administer first aid if necessary? Could you assist in the provision of an equitable Countywide Durham
Recuriter: Durham County Council

Social Worker - Assessment & Intervention, Mid Team

Essex County Council
£34902.0000 - £50081.0000 per annum
Social Worker - Assessment & Intervention, Mid TeamPermanent, Full Time£34,902 to £50,081 per annum Location
Recuriter: Essex County Council

Service Manager

Wakefield Council
£69,037.00, Grade 15, 37 hours, Permanent
Do you have the experience, skills, and ambition to strengthen the education offer. Wakefield, West Yorkshire
Recuriter: Wakefield Council
Linkedin Banner