The grooming gangs inquiry has expanded its scope to include investigations in Wales and Birmingham, alongside previously announced investigations in London, Oldham, Bradford and Keighley. The £65 million, three-year inquiry—led by Baroness Anne Longfield, former children's commissioner for England—aims to examine child sexual abuse by grooming gangs and determine why institutions and organisations failed to protect victims and survivors. The inquiry has legal powers to compel witnesses and require organisations to provide documents.

The investigation will scrutinise the response of police, local authorities, health services, social care services and schools. The inquiry team has identified over 800 recommendations from previous reviews and reports spanning back to the 1990s, noting significant inconsistency in their implementation. Public hearings are expected to begin by year's end, with findings published progressively throughout the three-year inquiry period, concluding no later than March 2029. Any evidence of crimes uncovered will be referred to Operation Beaconport, the national police operation reviewing previously closed investigations.