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The next item of business is a statement by Màiri McAllan on safeguarding and protecting children. I ask members who are leaving the chamber and visitors who are leaving the gallery to do so quickly and quietly, please.
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Child sexual abuse and exploitation are among the most serious harms that can be inflicted on a child. Our responsibility is to ensure that every child is protected, that perpetrators are pursued, and that survivors are listened to, supported and believed. I want to assure victims and survivors that the Government will never shy away from addressing the difficult truth that children and young people in Scotland are abused, that that is most often done by people who know them, but also by strangers, and, in some cases, by groups of perpetrators.
That is why, in February 2026, the Government announced its intention to establish a public inquiry under the Inquiries Act 2005 into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation. That reflected the significant public concern surrounding the issues, the cross-party support in the previous parliamentary session, and our determination to protect children and young people from harm in Scotland.
The Government established the inspectorate-led national review into group-based abuse in December 2025, which published its findings in September 2026. Although the findings provided a baseline in our understanding of that type of harm, the scope of the review was limited to recent practice and responses. It was based on local data or knowledge of known or reported instances of group-based abuse.
The statutory public inquiry is a separate and independent undertaking, with the strongest possible powers to examine the full extent of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation, including historical events, systemic issues and potential institutional failings. Ministers have listened to victims and survivors who highlighted the hidden or unreported nature of group-based abuse, the overlap with child criminal abuse and the circumstances in which harm took place. Survivors’ testimony was instrumental to the Government’s decision to establish the inquiry, and their stories demonstrated the complexity of group-based abuse, which must be unpicked to fully identify past failings and the action that is needed to address them now and in the future.
I announce to the Parliament today the publication of the terms of reference for the inquiry. I confirm that the chair has no personal or professional relationships, interests or associations relevant to the inquiry that require declaration.
This marks a significant milestone and provides a clear framework to guide the inquiry’s work. I confirm that the statutory inquiry into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation will begin on 11 November. Professor Alexis Jay will chair the inquiry, bringing her substantial experience and knowledge on the issue, as evidenced by her groundbreaking work as chair of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse and exploitation in England and Wales. I have been pleased to meet Professor Jay, and we have discussed our shared determination to confront and address this appalling form of abuse. I am assured by Professor Jay’s commitment that the inquiry be timely and conducted at pace, and her advice has been instrumental to ministers’ consideration of the terms of reference.
As regards the remit, the inquiry will undertake a thorough examination of Scotland’s response to group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation, both non-recent and in the present day. Its purpose is not only to understand what has happened but to ensure that it cannot happen again, that accountability is strengthened and that we do everything possible to better protect children and young people in the future.
The terms of reference commit the inquiry to examining the scale, extent and prevalence of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland and to examining their impact on victims and survivors. It will examine the characteristics of perpetrators, so that risk factors can be better understood and stronger protections can be developed. The inquiry will scrutinise any failures in practice by state and non-state bodies and relevant institutions, and the extent to which that might have occurred. That includes consideration of any deliberate concealment or failures to disclose information. The inquiry will examine any actions taken to address such failures and their effectiveness, as well as the actions that are required now to strengthen policy, practice and, where required, legislation.
The inquiry’s function is not to determine, attribute or rule on civil or criminal liability. Its purpose is to provide clear, evidence-based recommendations that strengthen the protection of children and help to ensure that failures are never repeated.
Careful consideration has been given throughout to the views, experiences and priorities shared by survivors. Ministers and the chair are all determined that survivors be at the heart of the inquiry’s work. In February, the Government announced the establishment of a truth project, so that survivors can share their experience and contribute directly to the inquiry. I announce today that the beginnings of the truth project will launch this month, before national roll-out in 2027.
On temporal scope, the inquiry will examine the period from 1 January 1996 to the setting up of the inquiry on 11 November 2026. That timeframe was carefully determined by considering evidence of the time that it can take survivors of child sexual abuse to disclose their experience, which, understandably, can be many decades.
The timeframe also pragmatically reflects the likely availability of records in local authorities under their current boundaries, which were established under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 and took effect at the beginning of 1996. However, the inquiry will have latitude to consider any relevant evidence or findings relating to its scope that fall out with that timeframe.
In establishing this inquiry, careful consideration has been given to the important wider work that has already been undertaken by the Scottish child abuse inquiry, chaired by Lady Smith, and the United Kingdom Government’s grooming gangs inquiry, chaired by Baroness Longfield. The Scottish child abuse inquiry has demonstrated the importance of creating opportunities for survivors to be heard, of rigorous examination of systemic failings and of ensuring that public institutions are held accountable. It is ministers’ expectations that the Scottish and UK inquiries, which are operationally independent, will engage appropriately to ensure that they complement and do not replicate each other’s investigations.
The terms of reference also set out that the inquiry has a clear aim to make recommendations for action. I am assured that the chair will identify and report those recommendations to Scottish ministers as soon as reasonably practicable. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that lessons are translated into action. I understand that the chair intends to report on specific aspects of her findings as they emerge, and we will consider any more immediate opportunities to improve the response to group-based child sexual abuse ahead of the conclusion of the inquiry. That is very important to me; we will not wait to take action.
We have worked at pace, balancing our ambition to bring the inquiry to fruition as quickly as possible against the time required to develop thorough and robust terms of reference. However, that has not been our sole focus. Work has already been under way to strengthen Scotland’s collective response. As I set out earlier, the national review published its findings in September, recommending actions to improve the consistency of definitions in data collection, support intelligence sharing and increase workforce guidance and capability. The Scottish Government accepts those findings in full, and we will work with partners to implement recommendations at pace.
The national child sexual abuse and exploitation strategic group has continued to bring together key partners to deliver its work on data improvement, workforce training and skills, and it has informed the Government’s commitment to legislate for mandatory reporting of abuse of children in Scotland. I attended the group in September, where I held positive discussions on its future direction and on how that important work can continue to evolve and align with the group-based inquiry.
I also highlight the ongoing work of Police Scotland’s operation descerno, which is reviewing disclosures, intelligence and cases relating to group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation. Although the review remains an operational matter for the chief constable, the Government has provided additional funding to support that important work, recognising its complexity and sensitivity.
Our determined and ongoing work to keep the Promise is another vital part of that work. So, too, is the roll-out of our bairns’ hoose programme, our public health approach to online harm, our national and local responses to the family C learning review, and the work of our newly established National Social Work Agency, among many other strands of work.
This inquiry represents the strongest of measures in our efforts to address the scourge of child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland. It reflects our commitment to listen to survivors, examine institutional responses honestly and transparently, and ensure that all lessons are learned and translated into action. Above all, it is about strengthening our ability to protect children and young people from harm now and in the years to come.
I want survivors to know that their voice will be heard. The inquiry will investigate what they went through without fear or favour, and action will be taken as a result. To those who would seek to perpetrate harm to our children in Scotland, I say simply and directly: there will be nowhere to hide from justice.
Thank you, cabinet secretary. I will allow 20 minutes for members to ask the cabinet secretary questions on the issues raised in her statement. Members who wish to ask a question should press their request-to-speak button now. A large number of members wish to ask questions, so I appeal for succinct questions and answers.
The Government and survivors have our full support in ensuring that there is robust scrutiny of the failures to protect our children and young people. However, survivors have waited for nine months since the initial announcement, so will the cabinet secretary give an indication of when we can expect the first findings and when the inquiry will reach its conclusion?
I thank Ms Sangster for her support and the Scottish Labour Party’s support for this work, and for their support for the survivors, whose voices and testimonies have been central to this work.
I mentioned in my statement that we have been keen to balance our desire to get the work running as quickly as possible with the need for thorough consideration of the terms of reference. I think that we have achieved that, and I am pleased to say that the inquiry will begin next week. What happens thereafter, in terms of witnesses called and reporting, is entirely a matter for the chair, and I shall leave that to her, with her unrivalled experience in these matters.
I will be very glad to keep Ms Sangster up to date on the matter.
Although I welcome the cabinet secretary’s statement, I find it shocking that it has taken 14 years for us to get here. There can be no greater responsibility than protecting our children, yet children have been abused, ignored and failed by the very state that should have protected them. They deserve protection before abuse and justice afterwards, not promises 14 years later.
That failure is not history. In Dumfries, my home town, schoolchildren are being handed rape alarms because they are frightened to walk to school. Think about that—children in Scotland carrying rape alarms just to feel safe going to school. What does the cabinet secretary say to the victims who were failed and to the children who are still being failed today on her Government’s watch?
In the spirit of co-operation, I say that there is something in Senga Beresford’s question that I agree with, which is that there is no greater responsibility than protecting children. I hope that it is clear to Ms Beresford, and to members across the chamber, that the pursuit of that is at the heart of the work that the Government has set out.
To the victim/survivors, I say that the independent inquiry, which has been set up with the strongest powers, will examine the full extent of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland, including historical events, systemic issues and any potential institutional failings. It will do so without fear or favour, and it will report to ministers, who are committed to action.
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s announcement. I know that it will be a huge milestone and a significant day for survivors. Will the cabinet secretary tell us a bit about the specific longer-term infrastructure that the Scottish Government will put in place to support survivors financially, practically and with ongoing emotional and trauma challenges so that, alongside the inquiry, survivors can access the ongoing support that they need?
There are a range of ways that we want victims and survivors to be supported, and it is worth mentioning in that regard the redress scheme in Scotland and the support that it has offered over several years. In the context of the inquiry and its setting up today, I draw Ms Gibson’s attention to the truth project, which is for victims and survivors to share their experience in a trauma-informed way. It will be led by John O’Brien, who is the former secretary to the inquiry on child sexual abuse in England and Wales, and who worked closely with Professor Alexis Jay in that regard. It will be a safe space, an open space, a trauma-informed space and, most of all, a supportive space for those who have been impacted by this abhorrent abuse.
I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of the statement. I am encouraged by the importance that is placed on hearing the voices of victims and survivors, and I urge the cabinet secretary to ensure that those voices remain central in the process.
One of the simplest and most immediate things that we can do to protect children from sexual abuse is provide age-appropriate and stage-appropriate education. What progress is the cabinet secretary making to ensure that all schools are following the Government’s relationships, sexual health and parenthood guidance so that we can address the rise of misogyny and violence against women and girls?
There is always a delicate balance to be struck between empowering young people with knowledge and resilience and the ability to support themselves, while, equally, being clear that, where sexual abuse is perpetrated, it is the fault of the perpetrator alone. I just wanted to emphasise that point.
Nonetheless, Laura Moodie is absolutely right that our education system is a fantastic opportunity to equip our young people with the knowledge that they need to support themselves. It is the Government’s expectation that age-appropriate relationships education is rolled out in our schools across Scotland. I also point to the First Minister’s very recent commitment that anti-misogyny education of an age-appropriate and stage-appropriate nature will be rolled out and made mandatory in every school in Scotland.
I, too, thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of her statement, but why has this taken so long? It is not just me who is baffled by the lack of urgency—survivors of grooming gangs have also criticised the Scottish Government for taking too long. Some have waited decades for justice.
We all knew that there was a significant issue the moment the inquiry south of the border began to uncover the true extent of grooming gangs. How confident is the cabinet secretary, therefore, that this inquiry will finally deliver the answers and the justice that the families and survivors deserve? Most importantly, when will they see that happen?
I am confident, and one of the things that most gives me confidence is that we have the unrivalled experience of Professor Alexis Jay, who is chairing the inquiry, and that the inquiry has the strongest possible powers to investigate the extent and prevalence, the impact on victims and survivors, the characteristics of perpetrators and any failures in practice of institutions, and to do that in every setting in which group-based abuse may have occurred.
The absolute expertise of our chair, coupled with the strongest statutory powers and what I believe are robust terms of reference, ought to give Meghan Gallacher a lot of confidence. I appreciate that, for victims and survivors, their confidence will be able to come to light once they have seen the action that comes from that. From the Government’s perspective, I commit us to taking action in the light of the inquiry.
I thank the cabinet secretary for advance sight of her statement. I also thank the survivors who bravely shared their stories that led to the inquiry and who will no doubt revisit their pain as it goes forward—without them, the inquiry would not be occurring.
Although the cabinet secretary has the support of the Liberal Democrats with the inquiry, I am concerned that there is a real danger that the inquiry will produce another set of recommendations about partnership working, better information sharing and training, only for the children to find, again, that there is little change in practice. We already have the Promise, and the care review and years of other reviews identifying failings in how we protect children, yet the Oversight Board for the Promise has warned that commitments continue not to translate into improvements in children’s lives.
How will the Government ensure that this inquiry will not simply add to that list? Will the Government commit to ensuring that there is accountability for organisations and individuals who are found to have failed in their duties to appropriately investigate and respond to concerns?
I understand the tenor of Mr Dunlop’s question, and I share his desire and the desire of others to ensure that important work such as the inquiry has everything that it needs to be successful and that the recommendations are then taken forward and action is taken.
I understand that, no matter the sphere of Government that we are talking about, it can sometimes feel as though progress is slow. However, I assure Mr Dunlop that action is always being taken that is changing children’s lives. He mentioned the Promise, which is an example of that. The Promise is for change everywhere in the services that touch certain children’s lives. Although we are not there yet, most people who are engaged with the Promise would say that practical change has happened in places and that it is making a difference.
My overarching commitment is that we are setting up the inquiry to make sure that it has the fullest powers to reach its conclusions. I reiterate today that the Government is committed to action in response.
I welcome the announcement of an inquiry into Scotland’s response to group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation, and the appointment of Professor Alexis Jay.
Health and justice agencies, as well as local authorities, all play lead roles in the protection of children, and it can be a complicated and cluttered landscape. How will the Scottish Government ensure that Professor Jay has full access to all those agencies and, more importantly, that her recommendations are implemented across all those different portfolios?
Protecting children from harm requires a whole-system response. I add that it is everybody’s responsibility to take that on. Through the national child sexual abuse and exploitation strategic group, which was chaired by Alexis Jay before she took up her current role and is now chaired by the expert Iona Colvin, we are bringing together those partners from across health, justice, social work, education, policing, local government and the third sector to drive co-ordinated action. The group is looking at a number of things just now, and it has working groups on improving data, on workforce skills and capacity and on mandatory reporting. Those are practical actions that are being taken forward by a co-ordinated group of experts.
I thank the cabinet secretary for today’s statement. We welcome the news that the inquiry will commence next week. These are some of the most abhorrent crimes and abuse that have been perpetrated on the most vulnerable in our society, and it is vital that we get answers.
A significant issue in the ongoing Eljamel inquiry was NHS Tayside’s inexplicable decision to destroy crucial theatre logbooks in direct contravention of the do-not-destroy order that was issued by inquiry chair Lord Weir. Can the cabinet secretary confirm whether Professor Alexis Jay has already issued such an order to all relevant bodies, including local authorities? What is being done to ensure absolute and total compliance?
I put on the record today that absolute and total compliance, as the member puts it, is both our desire and our expectation. We have already been in conversation with a number of survivors’ representatives about that very point, and it is my expectation that all the normal procedures in respect of do-not-destroy orders will be taken forward as part of this inquiry.
I welcome the announcement that the inquiry will start next Wednesday, 11 November.
My concern is for the victims and survivors. Will the cabinet secretary elaborate on what support the Scottish Government is providing those victims and survivors? In particular, how can the bairns’ hoose programme help to support the delivery of justice, care and recovery for children?
I mentioned the truth project for victims and survivors, which, as I said, is starting this year, prior to national roll-out from next year. That will allow people to share their experience and to talk about the impact on them and what they believe needs to change to prevent such harm to children in the future. I have also mentioned Scotland’s redress scheme.
Ms Black mentions the bairns’ hoose programme, which is a gold-standard child-centred and trauma-informed model that brings justice, health and care services together in one setting for under-18s. I have visited the north Strathclyde bairns’ hoose and have seen at first hand the kind of supportive environment that it is creating for children who have the need to engage with health and justice in that way. The Government is committed to a national roll-out of the programme, and my colleague the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise confirmed multi-annual funding support in that regard just recently.
I welcome the focus on safeguarding children. Given that Police Scotland has identified nearly 2,000 children as being at risk of criminal or sexual exploitation in the past year alone and that significant data gaps remain in relation to the scale of group-based abuse, can the cabinet secretary set out what concrete steps the Government is taking now to improve the collection and sharing of that data and ensure that the forthcoming phase of the child abuse inquiry leads to practical and timely changes that better protect children in care and in the community?
I will pick up on the last point, about children in care and in the community. It is worth reiterating that the scope and remit of the inquiry will not be restricted to children in care—it is wider than that and will cover all settings in which group-based child sexual abuse may have taken place. I hope that that brings the member some confidence.
With respect to instances now, which the member asks about, the inquiry will look at the state of play up until now and will consider actions for the future. Any current criminality is very much a matter for Police Scotland under its investigatory powers. I know that the chief constable takes that extremely seriously and that the police will be pursuing matters to the fullest extent possible within its operational independence.
I am sure that the cabinet secretary will be pleased to learn that the cross-party group on adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse formally reconvened yesterday. It is possibly the Parliament’s longest-running CPG and it puts survivor voices at the heart of its work. Can the cabinet secretary confirm her commitment that survivor voices will be at the heart of the inquiry? Will the inquiry engage with the cross-party group where it is appropriate to do so?
I commend the work of the cross-party group on adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse for its longevity and for ensuring that survivors’ voices are heard. As I said in my statement, ministers and the chair of the inquiry are determined that survivors will be at the heart of its work. I reiterate that the truth project will run alongside the inquiry as a trauma-informed space for survivors to share their experience. Decisions on stakeholder engagement are for the chair, but I encourage the CPG to engage with the truth project and, indeed, with the new chair of our national strategic group, Iona Colvin.
We know that a disproportionate number of victims of child sexual exploitation are care-experienced children and young people. Although there remains a strong commitment to keeping the Promise, care-experienced children and young people do not always see that commitment reflected in their day-to-day lives. Less effective and fragmented support is one of the contributing factors that leads to the targeting and abuse of children. Will the cabinet secretary provide an update on the Government’s action to implement the Promise and to address the fragmented legislative landscape? Will the Government ensure that its commitment is fully delivered by 2030 and that the vision of the independent care review is met?
I am happy to, because I recognise, as Cara McKee does, the centrality of the Promise and its delivery to this work. The issues do not only affect children who are in care, but we know that, when there are additional vulnerabilities, perpetrators will exploit them. That is exactly the challenge that we have in keeping all our children safe. I reiterate that the breadth of the inquiry’s terms of reference will allow it to look at children who were in care as well as those who were not and to look across the board for the presence of group-based child sexual abuse.
My colleague the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise recently gave a statement to update the Parliament on the actions that the Government is taking to fulfil the Promise. There were three key tenets to the update: first, our work to implement the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Act 2026, which sets out a wide variety of actions that we are working on; secondly, the Government’s intention to produce a final implementation plan that pulls together the significant bits of work that have to be done in the coming years; and, lastly, our intention to chair a final delivery board. As Cara McKee challenges us to do, it will bring all the actors together with a focus on keeping the Promise by 2030.
I welcome the cabinet secretary’s statement. It is vitally important to recognise that the core of what is being discussed in the chamber is the lived experience of survivors. Looking to the future, can the cabinet secretary provide an update on work to ensure that reporting of harm is mandatory for adults who have responsibility for safeguarding children?
Clare Haughey is absolutely right. I go back to my earlier point about how the protection of all children from all forms of sexual abuse is everybody’s responsibility. The Government is committed to legislating for mandatory reporting and, as I said in answer to an earlier question, the issue is being examined by a sub-group of our national strategic group, and other groups are looking at improving data and at workforce skills and capacity. There is an opportunity for this to be transformational by putting on a statutory footing something that we would all agree on: that everyone is responsible for the protection of children from sexual abuse.
That concludes the questions on the statement. I apologise to the members who I was not able to call.