Public protection partners across Scotland are to be asked to provide evidence of what steps they are taking to identify and prevent group- based child sexual abuse and exploitation, as part of the first phase of a national review.
In December 2025 the Scottish Government asked the Care Inspectorate and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS), working with Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education in Scotland (HMIE), to conduct a national review into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Today [Monday, 9 February 2026] the chief inspectors and chief executives of the four scrutiny bodies met with the Chief Officers’ Groups across Scotland to set out the full scope of the national review. Representatives from Police Scotland were also in attendance.
The four scrutiny partners have set an 18-month timeline for phases one and two. The review will be divided into three phases – assessment, assurance and improvement.
As part of phase one they will ask the Chief Officers’ Groups to give their understanding of the scale and nature of group-based child criminal exploitation.
They will also assess what local governance arrangements, guidance and processes are in place for the prevention, identification and response to such abuse and exploitation.
Phase one of the review is expected to last for six months, with findings reported in summer 2026.
Phases two and three will build upon phase one and will see the scrutiny partners identify what is working well and what further developments are needed to improve how children and young people are being protected from group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation.
The joint inspection team will also highlight any areas for improvement that may require a national response.
Jackie Irvine, Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate, said: “Child sexual abuse and exploitation and child criminal exploitation are significant harms that have a devastating impact on survivors, their families and carers and wider Scottish society.
“Our meeting today - with a broad range of public protection representatives - set out the full scope of the national review. We will report the joint findings and conclusions at the end of each phase, with the first one culminating in the summer.”
Craig Naylor, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, said: “This national review will gather evidence which will support Scottish Government Ministers’ considerations of whether there should be a future public inquiry into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation.”
The Chief Officers’ Groups were informed today that the review will consider how well public protection partners are working together to prevent, identify and act appropriately on instances of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation.
They were advised that through key lines of enquiry, the review will address issues including threat assessment, intelligence and information sharing.
It will also consider areas including survivor protection, advocacy and support, as well as looking at the quality of investigations into group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation, disruption and prosecution.
To focus on current practice, the review will request and assess evidence from the two-year period leading up to the start of the national review.
However, where the joint inspection team identify a need to request information prior to the two-year time frame, a rationale will be provided to local partnerships.
All four scrutiny bodies are independent from the Scottish Government and the services responsible for public protection in local areas throughout Scotland.
The review will report joint findings and conclusions at the end of each phase.
An update will also be provided to the Education, Children and Young People Committee’s evidence session at its meeting on Wednesday 25 February 2026.
Ends
Notes to editors
- Further information and scoping document available here.
- The national review will be conducted under S.115 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and the Public Services Reform (Joint Inspections) (Scotland) Regulations 2011. This enables inspectors to carry out a range of activities for the purposes of gathering evidence including reviewing records.
- Acknowledging the varying legal definitions of a child, the national review team will use the term to encompass children and young people under the age of 18. This includes young people who are now over the age of 18 years but were under the age of 18 within two years preceding the commencement of the review. It is important to note that this definition encompasses all children and young people who meet the criteria, regardless of their current educational or training situation. This includes, for example, those in mainstream, special or home education, post-school education and training, as well as those participating in community learning provision.
- During this review, the inspection team will use the term child sexual abuse and exploitation to include child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation and child criminal exploitation according to their definitions outlined in the National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland (updated 2023).
- They will use the terms group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation and group-based child criminal exploitation. By group-based, they mean where multiple [i.e. two or more] individuals take advantage of a power imbalance to coerce, manipulate, or deceive a child into sexual and/or criminal activity. They will include children and young people at risk of harm as well as those who have been subject to harm and this harm includes both in-person and online harm.
- The event today invited representatives from Chief Officers’ Groups, including Chief Executives of local authorities and health boards, Chief Officers of health and social care partnerships (HSCPs), Chief Education Officers, Local Policing Commanders and senior leaders such as Chief Social Work Officers or Executive Nurse Directors and/or their nominated representatives.