Grooming report leads calls for action on child sexual exploitation

The Coffey Report says young people are still "being preyed upon" across Greater Manchester.

But, despite the report being commissioned in the wake of the Rochdale scandal, critics say there is scant mention of on-street grooming by gangs of Asian men.

The report makes recommendations for training, education and the role parents and the community should play in future.

However, many are asking what is being done for those who have already been let down by a system that was supposed to care.

One thing Ann Coffey MP highlights in her report is that the police cannot tackle child sexual exploitation alone.

She calls for for a new approach led by young people themselves.

Among the projects visited and praised by Ann Coffey MP is one in Oldham run by two sisters.

Ashley Derricott went to meet some of those on the front line in the battle against child sexual exploitation.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said that Ann Coffey's report into child sexual exploitation is 'helpful' and 'makes some good contributions' to the debate.

But he went on to say that various agencies, such as the police and social services, need to intervene 'more quickly' to prevent the abuse of children across the country.

The health worker responsible for gathering the main evidence in the 2012 Rochdale child sex abuse case has told ITV News Ann Coffey's report "doesn't go anywhere" to ensuring it never happens again.

Sara Rowbotham said she had "tried hard to make it clear" to the authorities that children were being sexually exploited but that "nobody did anything meaningful" to stop it.

"Ann Coffey's report doesn't go anywhere to address any of that, it doesn't go anywhere to ensuring that that's never going to happen to anybody again," the whistleblower said.

"She doesn't offer concrete solutions, she doesn't absolutely say we have zero tolerance, it doesn't go anywhere to address the injustice and the absolute terror that happened to those children in Rochdale," she added.

Prime Minister David Cameron has told a press conference that one of the biggest lessons of the Coffey Report into child sexual exploitation is very early intervention.

Addressing the media, he said that it is 'not acceptable' for people under 16 to suffer abuse.

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk says the report into child sexual exploitation by Ann Coffey MP has some 'useful recommendations' but is naïve in the way it blames the public for having the 'wrong attitude' towards the abuse of children.

Stockport MP Ann Coffey, who led a report into child sexual exploitation, has said the authorities' response to abuse "shouldn't be a postcode lottery".

ITV News Granada Political Reporter Daniel Hewitt reports:

The Coffey Report says many young victims are still "being preyed upon" across Greater Manchester.

But despite it being commissioned in the wake of the Rochdale Sex Abuse Scandal - critics say there is not one mention of on-street grooming by gangs of Asian men.

Former Detective Constable Margaret Oliver told ITV News that Ann Coffey is aware of the ethnicity of the offenders and the profile of victims.

She says the MP has employed 'wilful blindness' by intentionally watering down the report to look at child abuse in general, rather than looking at child sexual exploitation.

Greater Manchester Police's Chief Constable Sir Peter Fahy says tackling the sexual exploitation of children and young people is an 'absolute priority' for Greater Manchester Police.

But he warns protecting children and young people is the responsibility of everyone and the police need help to identify individuals who prey on vulnerable children and empower young people to speak up.

His commitment came after the publication of Stockport MP Ann Coffey's report which found the sexual exploitation of children was the 'norm' on some estates throughout Greater Manchester.