The Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs has marked the start of its work with an open letter to victims and survivors. Dated 9 December 2025 and published by the Home Office on 10 December, the letter acknowledges historic failures by public authorities and commits to independence, transparency and accountability throughout the process.
Signed by Baroness Anne Longfield CBE as Chair, and panellists Zoë Billingham CBE and Eleanor Kelly CBE, the letter also confirms that evidence indicating criminality will be referred to a dedicated national police operation. Baroness Louise Casey will advise the Inquiry to help ensure it stays focused on securing answers for victims and survivors.
The Inquiry has been established in response to Recommendation 2 of Baroness Louise Casey’s National Audit on Group‑based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, published in June 2025. Recommendation 2 proposed a time‑limited, targeted inquiry into failures or obstruction by statutory services, with a remit to identify institutional shortcomings and hold decision‑makers to account.
On 9 December 2025 the Home Secretary announced to Parliament the appointment of the chair and panellists and issued draft terms of reference for consultation. The chair will consult on those terms in January, with final terms due by March 2026, at which point the Inquiry will be formally established.
The draft terms set out a statutory footing under the Inquiries Act 2005, a three‑year limit and a budget of £65 million. The Inquiry will cover England and Wales, deliver local investigations alongside a national review, agree an information‑sharing mechanism with policing, and publish a final report to the Prime Minister and Home Secretary. A Memorandum of Understanding with the national police operation is to be published within six months of commencement.
Victims and survivors are placed at the centre of the methodology. The Inquiry will develop a participation charter, use trauma‑informed practice, and ensure inclusive engagement across England and Wales. The chair and panellists intend to meet groups of victims and survivors in the initial months; further details of this process will follow in January.
The Inquiry will work alongside Operation Beaconport, the National Crime Agency‑led policing operation recommended by the National Audit. The Home Office has allocated additional funding to support the policing response, and ministers report that more than 1,200 closed cases have been identified for review, with national tools now being rolled out to assist complex investigations.
Practical preparation is under way. The chair will establish a secretariat and appoint a secretary, deputy secretary, solicitor to the Inquiry and counsel to the Inquiry. Safeguarding and support arrangements for participants will be put in place, and a plan will be developed to determine which local areas in England and Wales will be subject to investigation.
Scope and evidence handling are defined in the draft terms. The Inquiry will examine cases from 1 January 2000 to the formal setting‑up date, consider the role of ethnicity, religion and culture in both perpetration and institutional responses, and operate in a way that avoids prejudicing live criminal investigations. The National Audit underlines longstanding gaps in national‑level ethnicity data, which the government has committed to address.
For policy teams, safeguarding leads and local partners, the immediate milestones are clear: the January consultation on the draft terms, the publication of final terms by March 2026, and the establishment of an Inquiry website with contact details in the new year. For victims and survivors, the open letter signals a structured route into the process and a commitment to act on new evidence.