What powers, duties and options do a local authority have to protect a child they suspect is vulnerable to child sexual exploitation?

A helpful definition of child exploitation was set out by Cobb J in Rotherham MBC v M (at para [9]):

'...when a young person (or a third person or persons) receives a reward—which can be food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts, money—in return for performing, and/or others performing on them, sexual activities. In all cases, those exploiting the child/young person have power over them by virtue of their age, gender, intellect, physical strength and/or economic or other resources. Violence, coercion and intimidation are common, involvement in exploitative relationships being characterised in the main by the child or young person's limited availability of choice resulting from their social/economic