The Independent Grooming Gang Inquiry has launched. On 13 April 2026, the Home Secretary formally commenced the Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs. Here is what organisations with safeguarding responsibilities need to understand – and how to prepare.

About the Inquiry

The inquiry is time-limited to three years and supported by a £65 million budget, designed to help ensure justice is delivered swiftly for those who have already waited too long for answers.

The Inquiry will examine systemic, institutional and individual failures, making recommendations for improvement at both national and local levels. It will be focused on grooming gangs and will explicitly examine the role that ethnicity, religion and culture played in these crimes, seeking to hold individuals, institutions and statutory services responsible to account for any failures.

With a national remit across England and Wales, the Inquiry will work closely with Operation Beaconport – the national police operation into group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, overseen by the National Crime Agency. Where criminal allegations or evidence are identified, these will be referred to law enforcement.

The Inquiry must examine issues arising between 1 January 1996 and 31 March 2029. Information the Inquiry receives outside of these dates may still be considered as part of the wider evidence base and final reporting.

Importantly, the criteria used to select local areas for investigation will be published by the Inquiry within three months of the formal setting-up date of 13 April 2026 – and will not require agreement by the Government, as had previously been thought. It is unclear whether local areas will also be named when the criteria is announced, but selection will be informed by a combination of factors including the experiences of victims and survivors, and evidence of prevalence, harm and risk.

The Inquiry will publish findings and recommendations for each local investigation. Local and national recommendations must be informed by consultation with the authorities most likely to be charged with their implementation.

What should local authorities and public bodies do now?

With the criteria for local area selection due imminently, early preparation is essential. We recommend the following steps:

1. Document retention

Review and strengthen your document retention policies now. Ensure that relevant records (including historical safeguarding files, inter-agency communications and case management records) are preserved and readily accessible.

2. Document mapping and records audit

Begin a thorough mapping exercise across all departments that hold, or may have held, relevant records. This includes historical safeguarding files, referral logs, inter-agency correspondence, case conference minutes, and management oversight records.

Do not overlook legacy systems – records held on decommissioned databases, archived microfiche, scanned documents, or physical paper files stored off-site or in council archives may be just as significant as current digital holdings. Identify where gaps exist, whether due to destruction policies, system migrations or incomplete digitisation, and document those gaps now.

3. Legal and governance review

Commission an early internal review of past decision-making, referral pathways and any prior findings by inspectorates or review bodies. Identify potential gaps before the Inquiry does.

4. Engage your safeguarding leads 

Ensure designated safeguarding officers and senior leadership are briefed and aligned. Cross-departmental coordination will be critical.

5. Prepare for evidence requests

Familiarise yourself with your obligations under the Inquiries Act 2005. Consider whether specialist legal support should be instructed now, ahead of any formal notice.

Our expertise

Our inquiries, social care and public law teams have significant experience advising local authorities, health bodies and other public sector organisations through statutory inquiries and investigations.

If your organisation may be within scope of the Inquiry, or simply wishes to review its safeguarding governance and legal readiness, we would welcome the opportunity to speak with you. Please get in touch with our team to arrange a confidential conversation.