John Swinney sets deadline on Scotland grooming gangs inquiry final decision
John Swinney has revealed when he will confirm whether Scotland will hold a public inquiry into grooming gangs
John Swinney has committed to revealing whether Scotland will hold a grooming gangs public inquiry by Christmas after telling MSPs his government was giving the idea “very detailed consideration”.
The First Minister had come under pressure from political opponents and campaigners to announce a stand-alone public inquiry into grooming gangs in Scotland, mirroring the step taken by the UK government south of the Border.
Mr Swinney has now confirmed the Scottish Government will set out to Holyrood whether or not an inquiry is to take place before MSPs break for Christmas recess next month.
Speaking at First Minister's Questions on Thursday, Mr Swinney warned that establishing a grooming gangs inquiry could potentially interfere with the ongoing statutory inquiry into historic abuse against children in care.
READ MORE: SNP must get to grips with Scotland's 'eye-watering' £250 million bill for public inquiries
“This is a very complex issue to which the government is giving very detailed consideration”, he said.
On Monday, the First Minister was briefed by Police Scotland and national childhood sexual exploitation group “about the prevalence of these issues in Scotland”. He has held a phone call with Professor Alexis Jay, an expert who wrote the independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham, over the issue.
Also speaking at First Minister’s Questions [FMQs], Scottish Conservative MSP Pam Gosal highlighted “grooming gangs operating in Scotland that the SNP Scottish Government want to believe are not a problem” and claimed Mr Swinney and his ministers were “sticking their heads in the sand”.
Ms Gosal called on Mr Swinney to “do the right thing and agree to the grooming gangs inquiry, so we can uncover the true scale of abuse of women and girls that are occurring in Scotland”.
In response, Mr Swinney insisted “the government is looking in detail at all of these questions”, adding “nobody is putting their head in the sand”.
The First Minister said: “This is being looked at in detail because there are complexities about the interaction of the call that’s been made for us on this issue with the child abuse inquiry that we have already statutorily established.
“There are no straightforward ways through this issue. I assure Parliament that the government is giving every serious consideration to this important issue.”
Speaking to journalists after FMQs, Mr Swinney acknowledged “the public interest in this issue”, adding “work is underway to make sure we have a clear understanding” of the situation in Scotland.
“I am open to this question and that’s why it’s being looked at in the detail that it’s being looked at,” he said. “That has my personal attention and the attention of my ministers.
“I’ve got to go through careful steps to explore what is the ground that has got to be considered here before we come to any conclusion.
“We will make a statement to Parliament before Christmas recess on this issue. We’re set out our position to Parliament before the Christmas recess in a statement, which will reflect on where we’ve reached on our analysis by that time.
“I am gathering a lot of thought and reflection on this issue. I have more conversations to undertake.”