- Published
Birmingham and Wales have been announced as the next locations for local investigations as part of a national inquiry into child sexual abuse by grooming gangs.
The statutory inquiry, chaired by former children's commissioner Baroness Anne Longfield, is carrying out targeted investigations in areas across England and Wales.
It has the power to compel individuals and institutions to explain what they "did or did not do to protect children from being sexually abused", and will look at the nature and scale of abuse in each area.
Local investigations have already been announced for Oldham in Greater Manchester, Bradford and Keighley in West Yorkshire and London.
The Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs in England and Wales was announced by former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in June 2025.
But it faced turbulence when abuse survivors called on former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips to quit. The inquiry started work in April this year with a budget of £65m.
The inquiry says areas are chosen for investigation based on criteria including how victims and survivors were treated when they came forward, and whether opportunities to prevent harm were missed.
