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Offences against Children: Convictions

Asked by Rupert LoweRestore BritainMinistry of JusticeTabled Answered 20 May 2025UIN 51195

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of grooming gang convictions since 2005 have involved perpetrators born outside the UK.

Answered by Sir Nicholas Dakin

The Government takes the issue of child sexual exploitation extremely seriously and is committed to ensuring that all perpetrators are brought to justice, regardless of their background.

It is not possible to identify an offender’s place of birth, or whether their offending was part of a grooming gang, from centrally collated convictions data.

The Government is focused on delivering meaningful change for victims impacted by these horrendous crimes and we must do so in a way that is unburdened by cultural sensitivities. This includes legislative reforms to strengthen mandatory reporting as part of our implementation of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommendations. A progress update on this work was published on 8 April 2025.

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