Charities say vulnerable young people are being failed by local authorities, the police and central government
More than 2,000 children who have been trafficked or who arrived in the UK alone to claim asylum disappeared from social services’ care last year, according to freedom of information data shared with the Guardian.
The authors of a report, Until Harm Ends, submitted FoI requests to children’s services departments in councils across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland asking for information about trafficked children and those who arrived alone in the UK and claimed asylum, who then went missing after being taken into care.
Data from 135 local authorities revealed that out of 2,335 children identified as having been trafficked or suspected of having been trafficked, 864 (37%) were reported missing.
A total of 141 local authorities responded to questions about lone child asylum seekers in their care, who amounted to 11,999 children. Of these, 1,501 (13%) were reported missing.
