Birmingham and Wales Named as Latest Sites for Grooming Gangs Inquiry

The statutory inquiry examining child sexual abuse carried out by grooming gangs has confirmed that Birmingham and Wales will become the next areas subjected to detailed local investigation, expanding a process that already covers several English regions.

The announcement, made on Wednesday, means the inquiry panel will scrutinise how children were sexually exploited in both locations and examine the conduct of the organisations whose duty was to keep them safe. The inquiry said its work would probe the nature and scale of abuse in each area.

Baroness Anne Longfield, the former children's commissioner for England, chairs the inquiry. She has consistently framed the investigation as a search for answers that survivors have been denied for years, particularly in Wales, where she said victims and survivors had already waited far too long.

According to the inquiry, its investigators will consider how agencies responded to allegations and whether safeguarding bodies acted appropriately. The panel will also assess whether opportunities to intervene and prevent harm were missed.

Zoë Billingham, a panel member, said the inquiry would examine in detail what organisations knew at the time, how decisions were reached, how different agencies cooperated with one another, and why chances to protect children were not taken. Her remarks underline the inquiry's focus not only on abusers but on institutional failure.

The decision to open an investigation in Birmingham was driven by a combination of factors, the inquiry said. These included the experiences of victims and survivors, indications about how widespread the abuse was, evidence of harm and ongoing risk, and broader public concern about the issue.

The inquiry already has local investigations under way in Oldham in Greater Manchester, Bradford and Keighley in West Yorkshire, and London. Those areas were selected using similar criteria, with the inquiry previously stating that the treatment of victims and survivors when they came forward formed part of its assessment.

The Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs in England and Wales was established after former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announced it in June 2025. It was given legal powers to compel individuals and institutions to give evidence and explain what they did, or failed to do, to protect children from sexual abuse.

The inquiry's statutory footing is significant because it allows the panel to demand testimony and documents from bodies that might otherwise resist scrutiny. That authority extends to local councils, police forces, social services and other agencies that had contact with victims or responsibility for safeguarding.

The inquiry began its work in April this year with a budget of £65m. Its creation followed years of pressure from survivors, campaigners and politicians who argued that earlier reviews had not gone far enough in exposing the extent of grooming gang abuse or holding institutions accountable.

The process has not been without difficulty. In its early stages, abuse survivors publicly called on former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips to resign, a development that brought additional turbulence to the inquiry's launch and highlighted the intense emotions surrounding the issue.

The inquiry has said the areas it selects for investigation are chosen based on criteria that include how victims and survivors were treated when they reported abuse, and whether there were missed opportunities to prevent harm. That framework suggests the panel is looking beyond individual criminal cases to systemic patterns of failure.

For Birmingham, a large and diverse city with a complex web of local authorities and public services, the investigation is likely to examine how different agencies shared information and whether warning signs were overlooked. The city has previously been the subject of scrutiny over child protection, and the inquiry's findings could carry significant implications for how safeguarding is managed there.

In Wales, the inquiry will need to navigate a distinct landscape, with responsibilities split between local councils, health boards and Welsh government bodies. Baroness Longfield's comments suggest the panel intends to explore why children in Wales were not adequately protected and what structural changes are required to prevent similar failures in future.

The announcement has been welcomed cautiously by some campaigners, who see the expansion of the inquiry as evidence that the scale of the problem is being taken seriously. Others remain sceptical, pointing to the slow pace of previous investigations and expressing concern that the process could take years to produce concrete recommendations.

The inquiry's broader purpose is to establish a comprehensive record of how grooming gangs operated in England and Wales, how institutions responded, and what reforms are needed. Its findings could shape national policy on child protection, policing, and local authority safeguarding duties for years to come.

For the survivors whose testimony helped prompt the inquiry, the latest announcement represents both a recognition of their experiences and a reminder of how long they have waited for accountability. The panel's work in Birmingham and Wales will now form part of a wider effort to determine whether the systems meant to protect vulnerable children failed them, and if so, how those failures can be prevented from recurring.

The inquiry is expected to publish further details about the scope and timetable of the Birmingham and Wales investigations in due course.