Councillors vote for more action over 'scale of CSE' in Rotherham

Rotherham Conservative Group claim child sexual abuse is still happening "on the same scale as in the past"

Councillors have voted for more action to tackle the "true scale" of child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

A report by the town's Conservative Group last week said it had found "multiple examples" of abuse and that responses by authorities were poor.

A motion by the Conservatives calling for the Labour-run council to acknowledge the issue was accepted by all sides.

Leader Chris Read said tackling CSE had been the authority's "top priority".

In 2014, the Jay Report detailed how at least 1,400 children were raped, trafficked and abused in the town between 1997 and 2013.

It criticised the lack of action by police and social workers and provoked a wave of resignations and inquiries.

At least 1,400 children were raped, trafficked and abused in the town between 1997 and 2013

Recent allegations made in the Conservatives' report included girls being sold for sex from a takeaway and being picked up by older Asian men in cars late at night.

It claimed that where intelligence had been passed to police, it had "been unable to identify any action taken".

Emily Barley, leader of Rotherham Conservatives, proposed the motion at a meeting on Wednesday calling on the administration to review its internal procedures for handling reports of CSE and to put more pressure on police to take action.

"I believe that all of us in this room agree that child sexual exploitation (CSE) is still a problem in Rotherham," she said.

"It is my view that one child being groomed and raped is one too many, and I hope that we can agree on."

During a speech, Labour councillor Eve Rose Keenan said she was a victim of abuse and that she agreed with the Rotherham Conservatives that "there is not enough help" for victims.

"It is about survivors. It is about us and to make it clear this amendment seeks to put survivors at the heart," she said.

She called for "more resources" to support abuse victims and pledged "that survivors will be heard, they will be listened to and it will be acted on".

Mr Read responded that the council had recently committed "more resources to respond to the growing threat of child criminal exploitation".

He asked that any further evidence uncovered by the Conservatives be reported to the council in the next three months.

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Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), said officers had been in touch to say how "upset they were" at allegations the force was not investigating CSE reports.

He told the BBC: "I think a lot of what they're [Conservative councillors] saying is just misinformed or not informed at all and we can explain to them exactly what work is being done and there's a lot of work that's being done."