Overview
- The Conservative draft, developed with some survivors, focuses on non‑familial grooming and asks the inquiry to examine perpetrators’ religious, ethnic or national characteristics and whether these influenced state inaction.
- Proposals call for a fully independent statutory inquiry with powers to compel evidence, summon witnesses and make findings of fact across England and Wales, covering historical and current cases.
- The government’s process has not named a chair or published official terms since June, after chair candidates withdrew and members of the victim liaison panel resigned, with Baroness Louise Casey assisting setup.
- Survivor Fiona Goddard, who quit the liaison panel in October, endorsed the Conservative plan and said she has lost faith in the government’s progress.
- Labour says it remains committed to a full national statutory inquiry that will direct and oversee local investigations, compel witnesses and explicitly examine offenders’ background, ethnicity and culture.