More than 2,000 children disappear in social services care each year, report finds
Vulnerable children disappearing from care ‘at alarming rates’
- Nearly 2,400 children, identified as trafficked or unaccompanied asylum seekers, went missing from local authority care in the UK last year, according to a new report.
- Charities state this data exposes widespread safeguarding failures, placing these vulnerable children at high risk of sexual or criminal exploitation and other harm.
- The report, conducted by ECPAT UK and Missing People, highlights a continuous failure to protect these children over the last decade, with figures for 2024 showing 37 per cent of suspected trafficked children and 13 per cent of unaccompanied children went missing.
- Organisations are calling for urgent systemic reform, including appropriate accommodation for all trafficked and unaccompanied children and improved awareness of the National Referral Mechanism.
- The government acknowledged failings in the children’s social care system, citing the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as a major overhaul, while The Independent and Missing People continue their SafeCall appeal to fund support services.