Grooming gang victims are being FAILED by the SNP… ministers are unable to tell Scots the true scale of abuse
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public inquiry for months before reversing its position earlier this year, with the inquiry's terms of reference still unpublished.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".
In short
- Scotland can't measure grooming gang scale due to poor data collection
- Watchdogs found gaps in intelligence-sharing across child protection agencies
- SNP criticised for delaying inquiry despite ongoing exploitation concerns
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Critics argue that the review exposes a serious failure of government oversight: without consistent data, intelligence-sharing and effective disruption of offending, Scotland cannot assess the scale of abuse or protect children reliably. They say ministers should have acted sooner, and that the delay in agreeing to an inquiry and the absence of published terms of reference risk weakening public scrutiny and victims’ confidence.
The case against
A more cautious view is that the review identifies system-wide shortcomings across agencies, but does not by itself establish that ministers deliberately failed victims or that an inquiry would resolve the underlying problems. Gathering sensitive information about children and coordinating practice across councils, health services and police takes time; the government’s change of position on an inquiry and the review’s findings can be seen as grounds to focus on implementing reforms and improving accountability.
Explained simply
Child sexual exploitation can involve a group of people abusing or exploiting children, sometimes over a period of time. In Scotland, councils, police, health services and schools share responsibility for protecting children and responding to concerns.
The Scottish inspectorates’ review says gaps in definitions, record-keeping and information-sharing mean agencies cannot establish how common this group-based abuse is or assess the threat consistently. It also found that many local partnerships do not collect information about children’s circumstances and that few could show they were disrupting offending.
The findings have renewed scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s response, including its decision to hold a public inquiry and the fact that the inquiry’s terms of reference have not been published. Reliable information matters because it helps agencies understand risks, direct support and judge whether prevention and enforcement are working.