UNITED KINGDOM
Big Issue North
December 4, 2017
The head of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse insists it is on track to complete its hearings despite the criticism and loss of its previous chairs
Not long after qualifying as a social worker in Scotland, Alexis Jay took on some of her “most challenging work ever”. That role was to relocate 45 of Glasgow’s homeless family groups into bed and breakfast accommodation.
“It was a very significant experience for me,” she says. At that point, Jay could “not have imagined at all” that one day she’d be heading a multi-million pound inquiry into historic child sex abuse – one that, if all goes according to plan, could uncover institutional failings in some of the UK’s most longstanding establishments, including the NHS, the BBC and Westminster.
“I certainly didn’t expect to be in this position – chair of a public inquiry – but that’s life,” she laughs, apparently taking it in her stride. In August 2016, Jay, who led the pioneering Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham, was appointed chair of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse (IICSA), which has suffered setbacks and controversy.
“There’s been much frustration along the way,” Jay admits. But nearly 18 months on, she believes progress is being made, even if it’s not as fast as many would like. Although new figures show that only 145 public evidence hearings have been held over a four-year period, Jay is pleased to report that by the end of 2017 the inquiry will have held 10 weeks of public hearings, hosted six public seminars and published five reports.
“It’s no secret that there was a lot to be done when I became chair,” Jay says. “But the most important thing was to get a proper work plan in place to lay out how we were going to proceed. That was a priority. We set that out in a report last December and have adhered to that timescale of public hearings, seminars and other activities. I’m pleased that we’re nearly a year on and we’ve managed to stick to a very demanding schedule. Everyone has worked very hard to deliver that.”
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