The UK’s Conservative Party has called for a new amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which could stop its progress. The move has led to accusations from opposition MPs that the party is exploiting the issue of grooming gangs. The proposed amendment would call for the government to establish a national statutory inquiry into historical child sexual exploitation, focused solely on grooming gangs, despite a previous seven-year independent review concluding its work in 2022. However, the bill is unlikely to be blocked, as the governing Labour government has a large majority.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson condemned the Conservative’s proposed amendment to the bill, stating it would kill it “stone dead”. She claimed the legislation is the “single biggest piece of children safeguarding legislation in a generation,” pointing out that the Conservative Party was attempting to block essential measures aimed at keeping children safe. Despite ongoing calls for a statutory inquiry, ministers have confirmed they want to pursue the recommendations of the previous independent review, led by Prof. Alexis Jay, instead of holding a new national inquiry.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has supported calls for a new national inquiry, claiming the Jay review had focused solely on six towns but suspected that 50 towns had grooming gangs. The Liberal Democrats have also stated they will put forward their amendment, calling for the Jay review’s recommendations to be implemented in full. Although the debate surrounding the new amendment is unlikely to stop the bill, the Conservatives have pledged to continually propose amendments at each opportunity.
The current children’s bill has a wide range of measures aimed at safeguarding vulnerable children and young adults, such as tougher regulations around home-schooling, inspections of schools, changes to academies, regulation of private education institutions, and support for vulnerable children in care. But the Conservative Party’s political manoeuvring has drawn criticism from opposition leaders, who argue that the government must not let politics overshadow the need for continued support and action to prevent child sexual abuse
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