Anger as Government STILL won’t collect data on grooming gangs

Baroness Louise Casey has accused ministers of making too little progress on reforms to address child grooming gangs, particularly on collecting data about offenders’ ethnicity and religion. She warned that without reliable evidence, authorities cannot properly analyse abuse patterns and said her patience had worn thin.

Casey’s audit was published last year, and ministers accepted all 20 recommendations; 18 months later, she says progress has fallen short. The Government has not said whether it will legislate to make sex with a 13 to 15-year-old a statutory rape offence, while police forces have been asked to review past cases and are expected to collect ethnicity data, though no timetable was given.