Following the publication of the Casey Report, Leader of Rotherham Council, Cllr Chris Read, said:
“Twelve years ago, following horrific media reports and an understandably growing outrage, I was one of the councillors who asked for a report to understand the scale and impact of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham. Then we wanted to ensure that the mistakes of the past were not being repeated. That report became Alexis Jay’s report, and six months later it was followed by Louise Casey’s Best Value Report in 2015.
“We have come a long way since then. Indeed, Baroness Casey notes that Rotherham is now a completely different council, and South Yorkshire Police have received commendation. But of course those women failed in the past continue to live with the consequences of that failure. Today Baroness Casey talks about her ‘blistering anger’ about Britain’s continued failure to keep children safe. And for all of us in Rotherham, her anger is ours too.
“It is now inescapable that there must be significant activity to review cases, bring about new criminal enquiries, and to look more closely at towns and cities of particular concern. Her calls for better data and accountability for senior officials who let our children down echo those we have made over the last decade.
“But it is also clear there will need to be significant resources attached to this activity, not just in the short term, but in perpetuity. In Rotherham, the criminal investigations into abusers that are still ongoing ten years later have been largely conducted by nearly 200 dedicated officers with the National Crime Agency. It is easy to imagine that it will require thousands of such officers to meet the same challenge across Britain. Local authority Children’s Services are overspending their budgets in virtually every part of the country.
“As Baroness Casey makes clear in her report today, group-based offending is only a tiny fraction of the overall level of child sexual abuse that happens in our country. It isn’t good enough that once every decade it is greeted with outrage. The moment must result in permanent change, and we stand ready to play our part in that and supporting the change we need to see.”
If you are concerned about a local child or young person, go to our website at www.rotherham.gov.uk/child-protection/report-concern-child-young-person. If the child or young person is in immediate danger which requires an urgent response, please call 999.
