SO here we are again. Another day and another weighty report detailing the disgusting sexual abuse of underage girls lands with a thud.

But for the people of Oxfordshire, this one is different.

The grooming, trafficking and rape of vulnerable young girls did not take place in some faraway northern town, but right here in our world renowned city of dreaming spires.

More than 370 young girls were horribly abused or at risk of being groomed over a 15-year period right under the noses of the authorities, who did almost nothing. Except blame the poor, wretched girls and their parents for their own misfortunes.

‘They asked for it’ seems to have been the prevailing view of many police, social workers, teachers and NHS staff.

They all failed these children, for that is what they were, so completely, yet according to yesterday’s report nobody is actually to blame.

Of course they are not. Because if they were, that would lead to further inquiries, disciplinary action, sackings and maybe even prosecutions.

And more negative publicity for the organisations concerned.

And we really can’t have that, can we? That would just further trash the already damaged reputations of the agencies who looked the other way while these girls were drugged, raped, beaten and sold for sex.

Better to lay the blame at faceless institutions, take a collective beating and tough it out. That way nobody, least of all those at the top, has to walk the plank.

As for the report itself, its author Alan Bedford has pulled his punches, administering a mild ticking off rather than the public flogging that was called for. But that’s no surprise, as this is effectively the authorities at the centre of the scandal marking their own shoddy homework.

There is the usual talk of ‘systemic failures’ ‘new procedures being put in place’ and ‘lessons being learned’. The reputation managers of the public sector are weaving their magic even as the last pages of the 114-page report are being digested.

So where does that leave the victims? Those who fell through the net into the hands of a gang of largely Pakistani origin will not be celebrating today. The report tells them what they already know.

But despite its stark shortcomings, the report does offer a limited form of closure and recognises that organisations such as Oxfordshire County Council and Thames Valley Police were both negligent and utterly incompetent.

And the work that has gone on since the scandal was belatedly brought to light also gives hope that in this case, lessons really have been learned.

The Kingfisher team whose work is highlighted today will not look the other way when signs of grooming presents itself, that’s for sure.

There is real hope that the future is brighter for any child who faces being drawn into the orbit of such bestial individuals.

Escaping our dark past though, is going to be immensely difficult, given that many of those who allowed these scum to abuse with impunity are still working for the same agencies today.

That is what sticks in the craw. It is hard to stomach the prospect that somewhere out there is a social worker who believes that the solution to being faced with an abused girl is to ‘give her a cuddle and take her for a McDonald’s’. Or that there is a police officer whose response to a traumatised child repeatedly asking for help was to threaten her with arrest.

The future is brighter, but there can be no escaping the past. Not until a full public inquiry finally lifts the dark clouds of abuse, neglect and institutional collusion with sexual predators that hang over us all.