£3m for Rotherham outreach workers

3 Aug 15
A team of specialist outreach workers are to be deployed to Rotherham to help those who have been sexually exploited rebuild their lives, communities secretary Greg Clark announced today.

A team of 15 expert workers from the children’s charity Barnardo’s will be recruited to the borough from the autumn, backed by £3.1m of funding provided by the Department for Education, the Department for Communities and Local Government, the KPMG Foundation and Rotherham council itself.

The new outreach service will identify those who have been victims of child sexual exploitation and help them move forward. It also aims to boost awareness and the signs of sexual exploitation and prevent other children from becoming victims.

Clark said: “These new services, run by Barnardo’s, will help victims rebuild their lives and ensure they are supported as they seek justice through the courts against the perpetrators.

“It will also work to ensure schools, families and the community are aware and vigilant to possible signs of sexual exploitation, so vulnerable people get the protections they deserve and have a right to expect.”

In an independent report published last year, Professor Alexis Jay estimated that 1,400 children had been sexually exploited in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. A subsequent review of the council by Louise Casey concluded that it was not fit for purpose.

A team of commissioners, led by Sir Derek Myers, has been sent to Rotherham to run the executive functions and help it restore good governance.

  • Vivienne Russell
    Vivienne Russell is managing editor of Public Finance magazine and publicfinance.co.uk

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