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Criminal investigation to be extended after damning report into Rotherham sex abuse scandal Rotherham child abuse: Commissioners take over as Council is judged ‘not fit for purpose’
(about 3 hours later)
A criminal investigation is to be extended after a Government-commissioned report into the Rotherham child sex abuse scandal found the authority to be "not fit for purpose". Government commissioners are taking over Rotherham Council amid damning fresh evidence that it failed to tackle widespread sex abuse in the town because of “misplaced political correctness” and then tried to silence people who wanted to expose the scandal.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced measures to replace the "wholly dysfunctional" political leadership of the council, just moments after the authority's entire cabinet announced its intention to resign in the wake of Louise Casey's inspection report. The authority’s entire leadership resigned after a new inspection report accused it of being in denial about the operation of paedophile gangs mainly of Pakistani origin.
The National Crime Agency meanwhile has said its ongoing investigation into child sexual exploitation in the South Yorkshire town was to be extended following the findings of the report. They subjected more than 1,400 children to rape, violence and trafficking over a 16-year period. According to the report, senior figures at the council were reluctant to intervene for fear of being labelled racist.
The NCA said it will "examine a number of potentially criminal matters identified during a recent inspection of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council". The National Crime Agency (NCA) signalled fresh prosecutions could be launched following the investigation by Louise Casey, who heads the government’s Troubled Families programme.
Ms Casey was asked by Mr Pickles to inspect the council in the wake of the Jay Report last year which found more than 1,400 children had been subjected to rape, violence and trafficking in the town between 1997 and 2013. Concluding that the South Yorkshire authority was not “fit for purpose”, Ms Casey said: “The council’s culture is unhealthy: bullying, sexism, suppression and misplaced ‘political correctness’ have cemented its failures. The council is currently incapable of tackling its weaknesses, without a sustained intervention.
Louise Casey was asked by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles to inspect the council in the wake of the Jay Report last year (PA) “People were unable to tackle race issues because they were too worried about being called racist. They decided such issues should be dealt with by people who were from the Pakistani community.”
Today, in her report, Ms Casey said the inspection revealed "past and present failures to accept, understand and combat the issue of child sexual exploitation (CSE), resulting in a lack of support for victims and insufficient action against known perpetrators." Her report also found the council had “a culture of covering up uncomfortable truths, silencing whistleblowers and paying off staff rather than dealing with difficult issues”.
She said: "The council's culture is unhealthy: bullying, sexism, suppression and misplaced 'political correctness' have cemented its failures. The council is currently incapable of tackling its weaknesses, without a sustained intervention." The report said that Rotherham Council was in denial about the extent of child sexual exploitation in the town (PA)
The report said: "Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) is not fit for purpose. Following its publication, the authority’s Labour cabinet announced its intention to resign and the council leader, Paul Lakin, who only took up the post last year after the previous leader quit, stepped down with immediate effect.
"It is failing in its legal obligation to secure continuous improvement in the way in which it exercises its functions. In particular, it is failing in its duties to protect vulnerable children and young people from harm." Minutes later the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, who commissioned the Casey report, told MPs that the council’s “wholly dysfunctional” cabinet would be replaced by commissioners appointed by the Government and the whole council would be put up for election next year.
Ms Casey said the council "demonstrates a resolute denial of what has happened in the borough". Mr Pickles lambasted the authority for a “complete failure of political and officer leadership”.
She said her inspection team found "a council in denial about serious and on-going safeguarding failures" and "an archaic culture of sexism, bullying and discomfort around race". He said: “Both members and officers lack the confidence to tackle difficult issues for fear of being seen as racist or upsetting community cohesion. The council is currently incapable of tackling its weakness without substantial intervention.”
She said it had failed to address past weaknesses in children's care and had "ineffective leadership and management, including political leadership". The NCA said it would “examine a number of potentially criminal matters identified during a recent inspection of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council”.
The report highlighted "a culture of covering up uncomfortable truths, silencing whistle-blowers and paying off staff rather than dealing with difficult issues." An investigation by Professor Alexis Jay provoked horror after it concluded last year that 1,400 children had suffered sexual exploitation between 1997 and 2013.
It said: "RMBC goes to some length to cover up information and to silence whistle-blowers." But Ms Casey said the number was “conservative” and criticised many of those she interviewed for doubting the figure, saying that the council and police should focus instead on taking “effective action” against abuse.
Ms Casey also endorsed the findings of Professor Alexis Jay's report which caused huge controversy when it was published in August last year. Rotherham’s Labour MP, Sarah Champion, described the new report’s findings as “disgusting” and said every page contained a “new horror”. Ukip, which is targeting the town’s parliamentary constituency at the general election, called for immediate council elections instead of delaying them until 2016.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles has announced measures to replace the 'wholly dysfunctional' political leadership of the council (Getty) “This is simply too late. It is only by giving the people of Rotherham a full say in the future of the town, that we can build the community support that we will need to move forward,” said Caven Vines, Ukip’s leader on the council.
Ms Casey, who is director-general for troubled families at the Communities Department, was also tasked with looking at all aspects of how the council liaises with other organisations, including the police. Sarah Champion, Rotherham’s MP, said the report ‘contained a fresh horror on every page’ (PA)
Mr Pickles today told MPs he will impose early elections in 2016 on the council and proposes to send in commissioners to take over the responsibilities of the council's cabinet in the wake of the investigation. It was reported yesterday that two Rotherham councillors and a police officer in the town had been accused of having sex with victims of abuse.
He said the report showed the council was failing in its public duties and he would exercise powers given to him by law. The police officer has also been accused of passing information on to abusers in the town, while a colleague of the officer has reportedly been accused of failing to take appropriate action after receiving information about his conduct. Both have been reported to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
In a statement to MPs he said: "My proposals are designed to give the council the new start it needs and to put an immediate end to the council's on-going service and governance failure. Rotherham Council was in denial about the extent of child sexual exploitation in the town, the report said.
"I am seeking to make an order under the Local Government Act 2000 to move Rotherham council to all out elections in 2016 and every fourth year thereafter. The council has “a culture of covering up uncomfortable truths”. Its culture was summarised as “unhealthy: bullying, sexism, suppression”.
"The 2016 elections will be an opportunity for the people of Rotherham to renew the membership of their council and elect those they have confidence in." The report quoted one unnamed councillor who said: “The girls, the way they dress, they don’t look 14-15 years old; the way they make up – they look more adult.
He continued: "In the immediate term, I am minded to appoint commissioners who will provide new leadership taking over the roles of the currently wholly dysfunctional cabinet. “They go in to clubs, get served in bars. If you have identified so many perpetrators, why have there been so little arrests?”
"I am proposing they will therefore initially exercise all the functions currently exercised by the cabinet - that is all the council's executive functions." The report was also damning about South Yorkshire Police’s response. “[The girls] were threatened with wasting police time; they were told they had consented to sex and, on occasion, they were arrested at the scene of a crime, rather than the perpetrators.”
The council's cabinet announced its collective resignation minutes before Mr Pickles stood up to make his statement in the Commons.
The ruling Labour cabinet issued a statement which said: "As a Cabinet, whatever the details, as the political leadership of the council we must take responsibility.
"We therefore announce our intention to resign our positions as soon as transitional arrangements can be put in place."
Additional reporting by PA