FR-1 Response Accepted in Part

Single Core Data Set

Recommendation

The Inquiry recommends that the UK government and the Welsh Government improve data collected by children's social care and criminal justice agencies concerning child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation by the introduction of one single core data set covering both England and Wales. In order to facilitate this, these agencies should produce consistent and compatible data about child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation which includes: the characteristics of victims and alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse, including age, sex and ethnicity; factors that make victims more vulnerable to child sexual abuse or exploitation; and the settings and contexts in which child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation occur. Data concerning child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation should be compiled and published on a regular basis. This should be capable of being collated nationally as well as at regional or local levels.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
- In May 2023, the government accepted this recommendation, stating that it would improve data collection through the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse and drive improvements in police performance data (Government Response to IICSA Final Report, HM Government, May 2023).
- No published comprehensive core dataset on child sexual abuse across criminal justice agencies and children's social care as specified has been identified to March 2026.
How was this evidence gathered?
Evidence searched by claude-opus-4-6 on 10 Apr 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
Jurisdiction
England
Section Reference
K.1
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part UK Government
22 May 2023

We accept that robust data collection on the scale and nature of child sexual abuse is critical to underpin and drive a more effective response to child sexual abuse. We have made a number of improvements in data collection and will additionally be driving further improvements to police performance data.

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Progress Timeline
Official Report
08 Apr 2025

Implementing consistent data collection across agencies; supporting ONS Safety During Childhood Survey. Key milestones: December 2025 for CSEW data publication, Autumn 2025/Spring 2026 for survey pilot, late 2026 for estimates for ages 18-25, and mid/late 2027 for full prevalence estimate.

Published Evidence

Published assessments of progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

No Meaningful Progress
21 Jan 2025
Home Affairs Select Committee Select Committee

Professor Alexis Jay told Home Affairs Committee that £187m was spent on IICSA and "to date none of its final recommendations had been implemented." Called for "full implementation" saying "get it done."

View detailed findings

As of December 2024, none of the 20 final report recommendations had been implemented. The previous government's response was described by Prof Jay as "very weak and, at times, apparently disingenuous."

Home Affairs Committee hearing, 21 January 2025 View Source
Source
Inquiry IICSA
Report The Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse 20 Oct 2022
Responsible Bodies
UK Government Primary
Recommendation age 3.5 yrs
Last formal update 367 days ago