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Summary: Report says culture of complacency within the local authority allowed paedophile gangs to prey on girls
Rochdale borough council has apologised for letting down victims of child sexual exploitation after a damning report laid bare a catalogue of failures and a culture of complacency within the authority that allowed paedophile gangs to prey on the area's most vulnerable girls. The independent report found that the council's former chief executive Roger Ellis "did not appear to be interested in children's social careissues" and said there was no evidence that he had any intention of investigating the events that led to the jailing of nine men in May last year for offences including trafficking, rape and sexual assault. Ellis, who stepped down while the court case was ongoing, presided over a council with "a lack of consistent senior leadership, or a lack of vision and direction in relation to child sexual exploitation (CSE)", according to the report's author, independent consultant Anna Klonowski. Frontline staff "did not know what to do about CSE and how to deal with it". Furthermore, the 135-page report stated that social workers within the service "did not have a working knowledge of effective risk assessment". Ellis's successor as chief executive, Jim Taylor, said: "It is clear from this review that some children were let down by Rochdale council. On behalf of the council, I am deeply sorry these young people did not get the care and support they deserved. "We must never forget that the sexual exploitation of children is an appalling crime carried out by the worst kind of criminals. But keeping children safe from harm is the most important thing a local authority does, and we accept the conclusions and recommendations in the report. "This review paints a poor picture of the way elements of Rochdale council has previously been run. Hard-working, dedicated staff were also let down by some senior managers who appear to have shown no leadership and taken no responsibility. I am absolutely determined to ensure these mistakes are never repeated." The report makes 16 recommendations, including that the council review the ways it suspends and/or revokes licences for taxi drivers and fast food establishments, helping to disrupt the environments in which the 2012 trial found that the abusers operated. Klonowski also urged Taylor to ensure that any necessary disciplinary investigations against individuals relating to CSE be finalised and the "appropriate actions" taken. Rochdale's MP, Simon Danczuk, said it was wrong that senior officers such as Ellis had been allowed to escape disciplinary action by taking early retirement and called for systems to be put in place that would allow their pension funds to be clawed back. "This report shows that there were alarm bells going off all over the place and they were ignored," he said. "Senior officers turned a blind eye to child abuse and didn't want to know. The perpetrators of these terrible crimes and some senior council officers have brought shame on our town." Danczuk also criticised what he called "appalling complacency" after it emerged that senior managers viewed CSE as being "no more or less prevalent in Rochdale than in other local authorities". At one point a senior officer – believed to be the former executive director for children's services, Terry Piggott – is quoted as saying that they viewed CSE "as part of the combined evils that many children faced". Danczuk said: "The council now needs to tell us what package Roger Ellis and other implicated senior officers left with. If Roger Ellis has one iota of decency, he will return this money. "Jim Taylor has a very difficult job but he has decided to grasp the nettle that his predecessor ignored," he said. "He has inherited a completely dysfunctional children's services department and it will take time to turn it around." Ellis was unreachable for comment on Thursday night. Further information: