Revealed: Former bosses at Telford council turned down £150,000 grant to help CSE victims
Former bosses at Telford & Wrekin Council turned down nearly £150,000 in funding which could have helped protect victims of child sexual exploitation, it has been revealed.
The EU grant was offered in 2010 and would have helped professionals spot the signs of exploitation and trafficking.
The decision to turn down the funding was made when the council was being led by the Conservative party. It would have had to cover 20 per cent of the costs of the programme.
Councillor Andrew Eade, who was leader of the council at the time, said: "It would be highly improper to pass comment at this time, with the imminent commencement of the Independent Telford CSE Inquiry.
"We called for and fought hard for the Independent Telford CSE Inquiry and will be giving evidence to the inquiry.”
The grant would have been worth 177,259 Euros, which was the equivalent of about £148,000.
A spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council said the grant would be likely to come up as part of the CSE inquiry.
"The independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation issues dating back to 1989 chaired by Tom Crowther QC has started," they council said.
Co-operating
"We are clear that only an independent inquiry that scrutinises all aspects of child sexual exploitation will provide the answers to the questions that victims and survivors are asking. We would expect such issues to be looked into by the inquiry, which will report back when it is completed.
“As a council, we are committed to co-operating with the independent inquiry. We have also committed to investing in tackling child sexual exploitation and supporting victims and survivors.
“The funding issue referred to relates to when the council’s previous administration was in control of the authority and a previous chief executive and director of children’s services were in post, who left in 2011.”
Earlier this month, calls were made for the scale of investigation into CSE in the town to go back as far as 1989.
It is proposed that the inquiry should examine the local taxi industry and taxi licensing, and the impact that has had on CSE.
The inquiry will also consider whether Telford & Wrekin Council Safeguarding Children Board’s 2014 CSE report, its Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee’s 2016 review and Ofsted’s review of the borough’s children’s services in the same year 'drew accurate conclusions'.
It could take until 2021 for the inquiry to be finished.
