Flagship laws to protect children from sexual abuse and grooming gangs will be “ineffective” because the Government is refusing to enforce them, a damning inquiry has warned. Anybody working with children will have a legal duty to tell police or their local council if they suspect a child sex offence has been committed, under new legislation. But the Government has rejected calls to make failure to comply a criminal offence.
Instead, the potential penalty for failing to report suspicions of horrific abuse is being barred from working with children in the future – and even this is not guaranteed. An inquiry on Monday warned that the measures “may not do enough to provide effective protection against child sexual abuse”.
Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights said in a report that the Government must “reconsider the consequence of failing to comply with the duty to report child sexual abuse, so that it operates as an effective deterrent”.
And Labour MP Rachael Maskell said: “Accountability is central to effective safeguarding, so robust measures to ensure mandatory reporting is crucial if children are to be kept safe. The Joint Committee on Human Rights must be heard and their recommendations followed.”
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, led by Professor Alexis Jay, warned in 2022 of a “global crisis” and said 3.1 million adults in England and Wales had experienced sexual abuse before the age of 16. It recommended that people working with children should be under a duty to report signs of sexual abuse or accounts from victims, and said “it should be a criminal offence” to fail to do so.
There was added urgency after an inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal by Baroness Louise Casey found that there were 700 recorded offences of group-based child sexual exploitation in just one year, with children as young as 10 targeted.
But while the Government is introducing a legal duty as part of the Crime and Policing Bill, it has ruled out introducing criminal sanctions on the grounds that this would discourage people from working with children.
Instead, those who fail to comply could be placed on a list kept by the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) of people who are not allowed to work with children.
Monday’s report warns: “Even if a referral is made and the DBS is satisfied that an individual has failed to comply with the reporting duty, the DBS would not be required to add them to the children’s barred list unless they had concluded that it was ‘appropriate’ to do so.
“While it is reasonable to give the DBS some discretion for exceptional cases, this offers up the possibility of there being no consequence for a person who fails to comply with the duty to report suspicion of child sexual abuse, even if they are referred to the DBS.”
Committee chairman Lord David Alton said: “We are also concerned that the mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse may need to go further.
“Without repercussions for those who fail to do their duty and report these horrific crimes, it may prove ineffective. If it fails to deliver the necessary change, the Government must review its impact and toughen its penalties.”
The inquiry also warned that employers and managers would be reluctant to report concerns about staff or colleagues because they could fear damage to their own reputation.
The Committee heard evidence from Professor Jay, who said a new legal duty was essential because his inquiry heard from more than 7,000 survivors of abuse – many of whom had reported what was happening and been ignored.
Professor Jay said: “What happened in so many cases that we heard about was that they plucked up the courage to talk to somebody, but the abuse did not stop. They believed that this adult going to do something, and they did nothing. That must have been devastating for children.”
Campaign group Mandate Now pointed out to the inquiry that failing to report suspicions of money laundering was a specific crime but under the proposed legislation failing to report child sexual abuse would not be.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The introduction of mandatory reporting in England will mark a significant step in strengthening our child protection and safeguarding systems by creating a culture of openness and honesty rather than cover-ups and secrecy. It will also demonstrate to children and young people that if they come forward, they will be heard.
“We are also introducing a new criminal offence of obstructing an individual from making a report under that duty. This offence will be punishable by a custodial sentence of up to seven years.”
Explaining why the Government opposed a criminal sanction for failing to report suspicions, Dame Diana Johnson told the Commons in June: “the Government do not consider that it would be proportionate to provide for a criminal sanction that may inadvertently create a chilling effect on those who wish to volunteer with children or enter certain professions.”
The National Secular Society has warned the legislation as currently proposed “lacks teeth”.
The Crime and Policing Bill has been debated in the House of Commons and is due to be debated in the House of Lords.
