National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group minutes: Extraordinary Meeting: July 2025

Attendees and apologies

Co-Chairs

• Detective Chief Superintendent Sarah Taylor, Head of Public Protection, Police Scotland
• Iona Colvin, Chief Social Work Adviser, Office of the Chief Social Work Adviser (OCSWA)

Group members in attendance

• Professor Alexis Jay
• Alison McIntyre, Assistant Director, Barnado’s Scotland
• Alison Wales, Senior Policy Officer, National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) Scotland
• Angela Latta, Office of the Chief Social Work Office, Scottish Government
• Anna O’Reilly, Assistant Director Bairns Hoose, Children First
• Catriona Scobbie, Safeguarding Lead Officer, Education Scotland
• Donna McEwan, Practice Adviser, Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice (CYCJ)
• Doug Marshall, Pathway to Impact Manager, Childlight
• Fiona Kirby, Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)
• Ian Donaldson, Deputy Director Children’s Rights, Protection and Justice, Scottish Government
• Jane Scott, Head of Early Help and Protection, Centre for Excellence for Children's Care and Protection (CELCIS)
• Kathryn Lindsay, Chief Executive, Angus Council, SOLACE representative
• Kirsty-Louise Hunt, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Lead, Barnardos
• Mhairi Grant, Vice Chair, Child Protection Committees Scotland (CPC) Scotland
• Michelle McCargo, Renfrewshire Council, Social Work Scotland
• Mike Smith, Detective Superintendent, Police Scotland
• Nicola Dickie, Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Nicola Glass, Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA)
• Nicola McGovern, Temporary Detective Superintendent, Child Protection and National Child Abuse Investigation Unit (NCAIU), Police Scotland
• Sharon Glasgow, Protecting Children Social Work Policy & Practice Advisor, Social Work Scotland
• Sharon MacIver, Director for Criminal Exploitation, Action for Children
• Stuart Allardyce, Director of Lucy Faithful Foundation Scotland
• Tam Baillie, Chair, CPC Scotland
• Yvonne Friel, Health Improvement Manager, Public Health Scotland

Also in attendance

• Child Protection Unit officials, Scottish Government

Secretariat

• Child Protection Unit, Scottish Government

Apologies

• Alison Mcintyre, Assistant Director, Barnardos
• Alison Deighan, SCRA

• Alistair Hogg, Head of Practice and Policy, SCRA
• Carrie Lindsay, Executive Officer, Association of Directors of Education Scotland (ADES)
• Deirdre McCormick, Chief Nurse and Head of Public Protection, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
• Fiona Dyer, Director, CYCJ
• Glenn Preston, Scotland Director, Ofcom
• Jennifer Crocket, Chief Education Officer, Argyll and Bute, ADES representative
• Jillian Taylor, Child Health Commissioner & Chief Nurse, NHS Forth Valley
• Joanne Smith, Policy and Public Affairs Manager, NSPCC Scotland
• Laura Bradley, COPFS
• Laura Caven, Chief Officer, Children and Young People, COSLA
• Lucy Coleman, Chair, National Organisation for the Treatment of Abuse (NOTA) Scotland
• Lynda Fenton, Early Years and Young People Lead, Public Health Scotland
• Lyndsey Scott, Regulatory Affairs Advisor, Ofcom
• Mary Glasgow, Chief Executive, Children First
• Moira McKinnon, Vice Chair, Child Protection Committee Scotland (CPC Scotland)
• Paul Carberry, Chief Executive, Action for Children
• Rhona Robb, Head of Public Protection, Scottish Ambulance Service

Items and actions

Welcome and apologies

Casey Audit

Sarah introduced the extraordinary meeting by outlining its purpose: to discuss the recently published Baroness Casey National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation and to reflect on how its far-reaching recommendations may have implications for Scotland.

In light of the Audit, the group were asked to consider three questions:

• whether there are any urgent or short-term actions that the Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) group agrees are needed to be progressed by particular agencies, or collaboratively
• whether the existing framework and approach to ‘deep dive’ meetings as previously agreed by CSAE group should be updated
• whether there are other priorities which should be considered as part of the framework and ‘deep dive’ discussions

It was noted that there will be a discussion at the next meeting of the CSAE Group on recommendations in the IICSA Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), the Casey Audit, and the Jay Review of Criminally Exploited Children in the round. There will also be a substantive item on mandatory reporting.

Chairs presented a summary of Casey’s 12 recommendations, grouped across four themes:

Theme 1: adjust the criminal law

• recommendation 1 – UK Government (UKG) will change the law so adult abusers of under 16s are charged with rape

Theme 2: bring perpetrators to justice and hold agencies to account

• recommendation 2 – national criminal operation and national inquiry
• recommendation 3 – UKG to disregard convictions of children criminalised as prostitutes

Theme 3: improve information collection on victims and offenders

• recommendation 4 – UKG to make requirement for police to collect ethnicity data

Theme 4: improve information sharing and operational approach

• recommendations 5, 6, 7 – mandatory sharing of information, introduction of unique reference numbers for children and upgrading police information systems
• recommendations 8, 11 – improve consistency of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) investigations and utilise taxi licencing laws to tackle facilitation
• recommendation 9 – UKG to review child protection data to consider gaps, variations and effectiveness of serious incident notifications
• recommendation 10 – UKG to commission research on drivers of group-based CSE
• recommendation 12 – UKG accepts resourcing requirements for these actions

Current activity

The group noted current Scottish Government activity in relation to the Casey Audit:

• while the scope of the national inquiry instigated following the Audit is limited to England and Wales, officials are engaging with Home Office leads on approach and will continue to do so where there are issues that interface
• ongoing assessment of the Audit’s recommendations in the specific context of Scottish case profiles, policy, guidance and legislation
• Scotland’s National Child Protection Data Group will discuss the Audit’s data findings and recommendations in July
• a meeting between the Scottish Government and UK Government Ministers to discuss online harm is scheduled for September

The group noted current Police Scotland activity in relation to the Casey Audit:

• initial assessment of current CSE investigative landscape across Scotland
• ongoing analytical review looking at previous group based offending investigations and mapping approach to CSE in terms of policy, process, practice and investigations
• review of ethnicity recording across Police Scotland data systems
• liaison with National Crime Agency/NPCC.

Sarah advised that the Police Scotland assessment of CSE investigations and analytical review will be completed by autumn and presented initially to the Scottish Police Authority. An update will be provided at the group’s next meeting in October.

Chairs highlighted the following key issues:

• the role of data and evidence in underpinning local responses, and the need for a continuing focus on data development in the CSAE group’s ‘deep dive’ work
• how we jointly understand the definition of ‘group’ as the UK Government is using the definition in the IICSA Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which is ”two or more individuals…who are known to one another…”
• the use of ethnicity data in data development work
• the importance of a focus on training and education for Scottish practitioners, which the CSAE Strategic Group has already identified as a priority. It was noted that the group’s workforce education and development deep dive will take place on 14 July
• links between CSAE and other forms of abuse including child criminal exploitation
• the theme of inter-agency information sharing, noting the focus in the group’s previous discussions
• the need to bring together recommendations from the IICSA, Casey Audit, Jay review of criminally exploited children and the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel national review to consider in the round for Scotland

Iona noted that the Audit and group’s initial views had been discussed with Chief Social Work Officers who had been asked to share any local reviews of responses to CSAE. The chair also noted that the National Public Protection Leadership Group has an interest in the Audit and the CSAE Group’s view and that Chief Officer Groups could also be asked to share any relevant local reviews through this route.

Group discussion

In discussion, the following points were made:

Use of legislation/charging and prosecution approach

• it was noted that it would be helpful to undertake analysis of group-based sexual abuse and exploitation cases in Scotland that have been prosecuted under sections 28 and 29 of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, to provide reassurance that downgrading of charges, as was highlighted as an issue in the Casey Audit in England and Wales, in not happening in a Scottish context. There was a view that disregarding convictions of children who have been criminally exploited should also be actively overturned

Data

• linked to the above point, SCRA and COPFS would hold data relating to children that have been exploited that have been convicted of a crime
• data recording practices were discussed, with particular attention to how the use of current crime codes is a limiting factor in compiling a comprehensive picture of CSAE offending. All but one of the crime codes in the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 define children as aged 15 and under, with the only crime code within the Act that is consistent with the definition of a child within GIRFEC and UNCRC (up to the age of 18) being abuse of trust where an adult in a position of trust intentionally engages in a sexual activity with a child under the age of 18. The reference to “intentionally” was also queried
• additionally, a point was made regarding maximising the potential of existing health data, which is not currently linked at a national level, with plans to link with the Sexual Assault Response Coordination Service network and National Child Protection Managed Clinical Network to explore further
• further analysis is needed to understand the discrepancy between recorded child protection data and crime statistics for sexual offences against children, evidenced in Scotland and highlighted in the Casey audit. While a range of data and evidence indicates an increasing trend in prevalence of CSAE, including online-enabled CSAE, the number of children placed on the child protection register due to CSAE concerns is low, incidents of abuse that would warrant such registration are reportedly increasing. It was also noted that we are not comparing the data of two processes at the same time; national child protection data is gathered through child protection meetings, and disclosures of sexual abuse or exploitation may emerge later and crime data relates to reported offences
• the new specialist national Sexual Offences Court that will be established under the Victims and Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill could provide an opportunity to collect additional data on victims as well as perpetrators of CSAE
• the group’s workforce deep dive intends to include consideration of information from Significant Case Reviews/Learning Reviews. Initial Case Reviews could potentially provide a useful source of additional information on characteristics and response to CSAE
• published reports on sexual crime from the National Police Chiefs’ Council were highlighted due to the granular-level data available. There was a view that data collection should be broadened in a similar way - extending beyond ethnicity and type of exploitation - to capture a more comprehensive picture. It was also noted that the IICSA recommended recording the ethnicity of victims, in addition to that of perpetrators
• the discussion also touched on the collection of soft intelligence and evidence at local level. It was noted that this type of information is critical to building a more complete picture, especially in the absence of formal mechanisms for data integration and that Chief Officer Groups may have access to this information
• it was acknowledged that while data is critical to developing our understanding and response, examining child protection data alone is unlikely to identify – as Casey has suggested for England - the causes of the decline in reported child sexual abuse. To more fully understand that data, it would be helpful to explore with the workforce. A review or audit of case files may help to understand what is recorded in the narrative of case files

Information sharing and practitioner education and training

• Scotland does not have Single Unique Identifier numbers for children, a development that will be introduced through the UK Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Scotland could potentially consider Community Health Index (CHI) numbers and/or Scottish candidate numbers
• several members acknowledged that while inter-agency information sharing tends to work well in cases of known abuse, challenges arise when information is fragmented or uncertain. In such situations, practitioners may be less confident about whether and how to share information. A question was raised about whether approaches developed in the context of domestic abuse - particularly around information sharing - could be adapted for use in child protection
• members noted the importance of taking a more strategic, joined-up approach to practitioner training across all forms of abuse and exploitation. The national roll out of Interagency Referral Discussion (IRD) training later this year was seen as a welcome development. It was noted that there may be a need to revisit multi-agency recognition and response training with a CSE lens
• the group observed that the type and extent of information held by different agencies varies, including differences in thresholds, scope, and what is shared. An example was given of an area in England where the police had not identified organised CSAE but when children’s files within social work were interrogated, there was evidence of exploitation occurring

Extending the inquiry to Scotland

• it was noted that while there is no current evidence that the issues identified in Casey are presenting in the same way in Scotland, there is no room for complacency and the further work that had been discussed will provide a more comprehensive picture. The Group’s assessment of the recommendations in both the Audit and the IICSA will be vital in informing advice to Scottish Ministers on Scotland’s response to the Audit
• there was a view that consideration needs to be given to what victims and survivors would want from a national inquiry as the parameters or consequence of any inquiry may not fulfil this expectation
• there was also a view that the child protection system was designed to consider individual children and not groups or context, and this creates challenges in developing current approaches to contextual safeguarding which have been shown to be particularly effective in preventing and responding to CSAE. However, it was felt that there was a current opportunity to build on existing and emerging risk assessment practice, including contextual safeguarding, as part of ongoing developments

Due to time constraints, the group were unable to discuss all the themes and recommendations in the Audit. An analysis of all the recommendations will be carried out as part of the action below to produce a paper for the next meeting.

Actions:

• Police Scotland to provide an update on assessment and review work at the group’s next meeting
• COPFS/SCRA to consider information held on charges and convictions relating to group-based sexual abuse and exploitation cases in Scotland
• NSPCC to share briefings on sexual crime and child protection data
• secretariat to provide an update on the National Child Protection Data Group’s discussion of the Audit’s data findings and recommendations
• secretariat to provide a paper bringing together recommendations from the IICSA, Casey Audit, the Jay review of criminally exploited children and the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel national review for the group’s consideration at its next meeting
• Iona to share any local reviews of responses to CSAE received by Chief Social Work Advisers
• chairs to update the National Public Protection Leadership Group on the Casey Audit and the group’s considerations, and to seek information on local reviews of CSAE responses from Chief Officer Groups
• members to provide feedback on the timeline on anything that is missing from a national perspective [noting that the timeline relates primarily to key Scottish Government/UKG/UK developments and that all agencies will have their own key milestones over this period]
• the group’s workforce and education deep dive leads to consider points in the meeting raised as part of ongoing development