Have lessons really been learned about the child grooming crisis?

It is easy to demand more public spending on one priority after another, but there is certainly a case for modest increases in funding for prevention, investigation and information-sharing

We learnt more about the sexual exploitation of children after a review into grooming gangs was ordered last year by then-home secretary Sajid Javid. But not enough is yet being done to stamp out this widespread form of child abuse.

The government and local authorities say that lessons have been learned from the inquiry, from a previous inquiry carried out by Rotherham council and from a series of court cases in which men were jailed for sexual offences against girls.

But Sammy Woodhouse, a victim who helped expose the scandal, told The Independent: “They haven’t learned anything.” She is supported by Sarah Champion, Labour MP for Rotherham, who said: “Too many times, the government has said it will ‘learn lessons’, yet 19,000 children are still at risk of sexual exploitation.”