The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry is set to examine grooming gangs and institutional failures to protect children in care when a new phase begins. Lady Smith's inquiry, operational since 2015, will focus on the exploitation of children who were in care at the time of the abuse. This could include grooming or exploitation that occurred outside the child's placement or foster home.
Background of the Inquiry
In February, the Scottish Government ordered a separate inquiry into grooming gangs with full investigatory powers, chaired by Professor Alexis Jay. Phase 11 of Lady Smith's inquiry, titled "Protecting children in care in Scotland from abuse: present and future," will commence later in 2026, with the section on child exploitation starting in early 2027.
Key Details of Phase 11
Lady Smith stated that the phase will examine whether government and other institutions failed to protect children from abuse. The structure of Phase 11 hearings will allow for specific themes to be explored, such as "Why children abuse other children," which will be considered later this year.
Regarding exploitation, Lady Smith explained: "By exploitation, I mean a type of abuse in which a single person or groups of people persuade or force a child to engage in sexual or other activity. When groups of people do this, they may be referred to as 'grooming gangs.'"
The inquiry can investigate abuse even if the grooming or exploitation took place outside the placement or foster home, as long as the exploited child was in care. It can investigate allegations of abuse that happened before the end of December 2014, as well as abuse that began before and continued after that date.
Closing submissions in Phase 10 of the inquiry will begin on Thursday.
