Key Points
- The Senedd voted down Reform UK’s motion seeking to compel the UK Government to ensure Wales is part of the statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs investigation.
- Llŷr Powell, from Reform UK, proposed the motion in the debate, and it went down 47 to 37 votes on 16 September 2026.
- The motion by the Welsh Conservatives seeking to compel an inquiry into grooming gangs in Wales was also voted down by 47 votes to 37.
- The Plaid Cymru amended motion was accepted 47 votes to eight, and 29 voted to abstain. It recognized that Wales was included in the statutory UK-wide inquiry.
- MS Paul Marr opened the debate, describing in detail, with his daughter’s consent, how he was held against his will and raped three years ago.
- He mentioned that the perpetrator was serving 14 years, and that his daughter was believed in her claims.
- That victims should not be “a category, a number and a strategy,” and that families deserved to know what happens when Welsh institutions fail in their job of safeguarding their children.
- The Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs covers England and Wales, but it includes some local investigations in Oldham, Bradford, Keighley, and London. No Welsh
Wales (Wales Times) September 22, 2026 — The Senedd has rejected calls for Wales to be investigated as part of the UK Government’s statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, while also rejecting a separate Conservative proposal for a Wales-wide inquiry. Members instead backed a Plaid Cymru amendment confirming that Wales falls within the scope of the existing statutory inquiry.
How Did the Senedd Vote?
As reported by Ella Groves, ICNN Senedd reporter, for Nation.Cymru, the original Reform UK motion was tabled by Llŷr Powell MS and called on the UK Government to ensure Wales was investigated “at the earliest opportunity” as part of the Statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs.
The motion was rejected on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, by 47 votes to 37, with no abstentions recorded in that division.
The Welsh Conservatives then proposed an amendment calling for a Wales-wide grooming gang inquiry. That amendment was also defeated by 47 votes to 37.
Plaid Cymru’s amended motion was subsequently agreed. It received 47 votes in favour, eight against and 29 abstentions.
According to the official Senedd record, the agreed position noted that all Welsh victims of sexual exploitation by grooming gangs deserve justice, while placing Wales within the remit of the statutory inquiry rather than supporting a separate Wales-only investigation.
What Did Paul Marr Say?
Reform MS Paul Marr opened the debate by speaking about his daughter’s experience of sexual assault. He said he was speaking with her agreement and declined to give further details.
As reported by Nation.Cymru, Mr Marr told the Siambr:
“In debates like this, victims are often talked about as a category, a number and a strategy. She’s my child.”
He made clear that his daughter’s case did not involve a grooming gang, but one man. He said the perpetrator was serving a 14-year sentence and that his daughter had been believed.
Mr Marr also spoke about the shame often experienced by victims. He said his daughter had a family who would have done anything for her, but that she did not ask for help for a long time because she felt ashamed.
“The shame belonged entirely to the man who harmed her, but knowing that as a parent does not mean that you can make your child feel it as well,”
he said, according to Nation.Cymru.
Why Did Reform Call for Wales to Be Included?
Mr Marr argued that, although Wales had not been formally excluded from the statutory inquiry, families deserved clarity about how Welsh institutional failures would be examined.
He said: “That does not mean that Wales has been excluded. But families deserve clarity about how Welsh institutional failures will be examined.”
He added that no one could return to his daughter the three years she had lost, but said every member should bring the same seriousness to another family’s child that they would bring to their own.
The official Senedd record shows Mr Marr told Members that the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs covers England and Wales. He said its first investigations concern Oldham, Bradford, Keighley and London, with further areas to be selected, and that no Welsh area was included in that initial group.
What Did the Motion Ask For?
The Reform UK motion stated that the Senedd noted a recent rise in convictions for offences relating to sexual exploitation by grooming gangs in Wales. It also stated that all Welsh victims deserved justice.
It called on the UK Government to ensure Wales was investigated as part of the statutory inquiry.
The Welsh Conservatives went further by proposing a Wales-wide grooming gang inquiry. Their amendment was also rejected.
Plaid Cymru’s successful amendment instead recorded that Wales falls within the scope of the statutory Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs.
What Is the Wider Context?
The vote followed renewed political pressure after the conviction of five defendants at Caernarfon Crown Court on 3 August 2026 in a major child sexual exploitation investigation led by North Wales Police. As reported by Emily Price for Nation.Cymru, the convictions reignited calls for a Wales-specific inquiry.
A survivor of child sexual exploitation subsequently called for a Wales-wide inquiry after the Rhyl trial. As reported by the Rhyl Journal, the survivor said a separate inquiry focusing exclusively on Wales was necessary to establish the full scale of grooming gang activity in Wales.
Cristiana Emsley MS, the Welsh Conservatives’ shadow cabinet secretary for fairness, families and communities, called for Wales to be “fairly represented” in the statutory inquiry.
Earlier in August, Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar wrote to Baroness Anne Longfield, chair of the Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs, urging that Wales be fully included in the investigation. As reported by Nation.Cymru, his letter referred to the recent Rhyl convictions and a separate long-running Gwent Police investigation into group-based child sexual exploitation.
Reform Wales had also pressed for greater Welsh representation in the inquiry. In early September, Reform MS Dan Thomas said his group would table a motion calling for Wales to have greater representation in the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Grooming Gangs.
Background of the Development
The Senedd previously debated a Welsh Conservative motion in February 2025 calling on Labour ministers to commission an independent inquiry into child sexual exploitation by grooming gangs based in Wales. Members rejected that motion and instead unanimously supported a Plaid Cymru amendment requiring the Welsh Government to consider an inquiry after reviewing an audit of evidence held by local police forces.
The UK Government subsequently launched a statutory inquiry covering England and Wales. Its first local investigations were announced for Oldham, Bradford, Keighley and London, with no Welsh location included in the initial group.
The latest Senedd debate was broadcast by BBC Parliament and focused on grooming gangs in Wales.
Prediction: What Could This Mean for Wales?
For victims, survivors and their families in Wales, the result is likely to keep attention on whether the UK-wide inquiry examines Welsh cases, institutions and local authority failures with sufficient depth. Mr Marr’s argument that families need clarity on how Welsh institutional failures will be examined is likely to remain central to that discussion.
For Welsh political parties, the vote may intensify pressure on the Welsh Government and the inquiry’s leadership to explain how Wales will be selected for future local investigations. The absence of a Welsh area from the first group of investigations has already been used by Reform and the Welsh Conservatives to argue for stronger Welsh representation.
For local communities, particularly in north Wales following the Rhyl convictions, the development may affect confidence in whether national structures will fully address concerns raised locally. Survivors and campaign groups are likely to continue calling for assurance that Welsh evidence, police investigations and institutional responses will be examined rather than treated as peripheral to an England-and-Wales inquiry.
