Media Statement By The Adult Survivors Kampaign (ASK) 19.7.18 “Supporting victims and survivors of CSE to help make Rotherham a world-renowned Centre for tackling Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE).” ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……….. An epetition (see box below) on behalf of ASK (Adult Survivors Kampaign) was submitted onto the RMBC website on 24 June 2018. The petition was then formally submitted on 29 June 2018 to the Head of Democratic Services, Assistant Chief Executive’s Office with more than the 20 signatures required with the request that it be tabled for the Council Meeting on 25 July 2018. On 17 July 2018 an email from RMBC stated: “This will not be accepted as a petition by the Council and will be referred through the Council's Complaints Procedure” Despite email exchanges over two days with senior officials in Democratic Services no further explanation has been provided. The petition is NOT A COMPLAINT. A number of members of ASK have had what they regard as dire experiences in response to making a complaint to RMBC in the past. Petition, submitted as an epetition on 24.6.18 The Chief Executive of RMBC should apologise to adult survivors of CSE We the undersigned call on the Chief Executive of Rotherham Council to apologise those who provided their voices in Voices of Despair Voices of Hope and to all victims and survivors of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) in Rotherham for allowing person X to be paid three days’ pay (probably more than £2000) to present a report that was more than two years old on 6 September 2017. Justification X, the author of the RMBC Report “Review of Cases A to O” was commissioned at £675 per day in October 2014. X completed a report in May 2015. Meanwhile X was appointed, without an interview, on 6 April 2015 as the Interim Deputy Strategic Director of Children and Young People Services (CYPS) for an initial period of six months. This period was extended and in a recent Freedom Of Information (FOI) response RMBC stated that there is no record as to how the extension beyond six months took place. On 7 December 2015, X wrote an appalling response to a FOI Request from 16 September 2015. The response contained a blatant lie. X then refused to respond to a request for information about this lie. Knowing all of this, X was invited to the meeting held in the Rotherham Council Chamber on 6 September 2017 to speak to the report that was more than two years old and paid three days’ pay. The Chief Executive should apologise to those who provided their voices in Voices of Despair Voices of Hope and to all victims and survivors of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) for allowing X to appear in the Council Chamber, knowing that X had previously been dishonest, on behalf of RMBC, in the response to the FOI Request submitted on 16 September 2015. Note This petition is on behalf of the Adult Survivors Campaign (ASK) and the lead petitioner will be an adult survivor of CSE and possibly one of those who joined the trip (paid for by RMBC) to the Houses of Parliament and to Downing Street on 25 March 2015 – more than 100 copies of Voices Of Despair Voices Of Hope were handed in for MPs to the Houses of Parliament and to 10 Downing Street.