A national inquiry into grooming gangs has outlined its terms of reference, prompting calls from a child sexual exploitation survivor for a significant expansion of its scope to encompass every council and police force across the United Kingdom.

Sammy Woodhouse, a survivor of the Rotherham abuse scandal, urged the £65 million inquiry to extend its investigations to all local authorities and police forces. She also advocated for the inquiry to examine a period predating 1996, asserting that the issue of child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs "goes back many more decades" than the current timeframe under consideration.

The inquiry is designed to investigate how grooming gangs operated and assess the responses of various institutions, including law enforcement, local councils, health services, social care providers, and schools. While inquiry leaders are still determining specific locations for local reviews where serious institutional failures have been identified, Oldham has been confirmed as one such area.

Writing on social media, Ms. Woodhouse emphasized the importance of consulting a broad range of individuals, stating that the inquiry should engage with whistle-blowers, parents, and people born from rapes, alongside survivors, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issue in the UK. Ms. Woodhouse, who experienced abuse as a teenager, also participated in a private investigation led by Restore Britain MP Rupert Lowe, which reportedly identified child sexual exploitation in 85 local authorities nationwide.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood issued a statement affirming that the inquiry, agreed upon with the chair, would maintain a "laser focus" on grooming gangs. She added that it would explicitly examine the role of ethnicity, religion, and culture concerning both offenders and the institutional responses to the exploitation.

Political figures also reacted to the inquiry's outlined terms. Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch remarked that the terms of reference appeared to have been "significantly strengthened." Conversely, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage expressed "absolutely no faith" that the inquiry would deliver justice for victims.