The Scottish government has announced a national review of the evidence on the operation of grooming gangs in the country.
It will be carried out by an independent expert, and the results will inform a future decision on whether or not there should be a judge-led public inquiry.
Details of the independent review were unveiled at Holyrood during a Scottish Labour-led debate on transparency in tackling group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Professor Alexis Jay, who led the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse in England and Wales, has agreed to chair Scotland’s National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group from January 2026.
The work will be undertaken alongside that of the independent Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry, as well as work already under way by Police Scotland to review previous cases, to gather evidence on the extent of group-related child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth said: “We have been clear that we are prepared to give every consideration to an inquiry on this issue, and that any such decision needs to be based on information, evidence and a greater understanding of the scale and nature of this form of abuse and of the responses to it.
“Professor Alexis Jay has extensive expertise in this area, and her insights will be invaluable to ministers as this work is taken forward.”
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Professor Jay said she was “pleased” to take on the role of chair.
She added: “There is much to do, and do quickly.”
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The national review follows several high-profile cases, including the “beastie house” paedophile ring in Glasgow and the recently-sentenced Romanian grooming gang in Dundee.
In November, a young woman claimed she was the victim of an alleged Pakistani grooming gang operating across Glasgow and South Lanarkshire.
Taylor, which is not her real name, wrote to First Minister John Swinney with claims of how she was preyed on by at least 10 men when she was 13-years-old and in care.
A national inquiry into grooming gangs is to take place in England and Wales, but one has not been set up in Scotland.
The Scottish Conservatives attempted to add an amendment to the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill in September which would have seen a public inquiry, but it was rejected.
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Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay called for a “full and fearless independent inquiry into the scale of grooming gang activity”.
Mr Findlay said: “The SNP have finally been shamed into taking action, but this doesn’t go far enough.”
