A joint review by Scottish inspectorates has found that the true scale of grooming gangs in Scotland cannot be established because of major gaps in data collection and intelligence-sharing between agencies. The report, published by the Care Inspectorate, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland, Healthcare Improvement Scotland and HM Inspectorate of Education in Scotland, concludes that without a national definition or consistent reporting requirements, neither local partnerships nor national bodies can accurately assess the prevalence or threat of group-based child sexual exploitation. The findings have fuelled criticism of the SNP government, which resisted calls for a public inquiry for months before reversing its position earlier this year, with the inquiry's terms of reference still unpublished.

Fewer than half of Scotland's local child protection partnerships were found to collect data on factors such as ethnicity, disability and care experience, and only a small number could show they were effectively disrupting group-based offending. Investigators, who examined over 150 national documents and interviewed senior figures from councils, health boards and Police Scotland, also identified underuse of the police's Partners Intelligence Portal, inconsistent health screening for vulnerable children, and almost no use of Trafficking and Exploitation Risk or Prevention Orders against suspected offenders in the past two years. Scottish Tory justice spokesman Stephen Kerr branded the situation a "national disgrace" and accused ministers of a "dereliction of duty".