More than 2,000 children disappear in social services care each year, report finds

Nearly 2,400 children who have been trafficked or arrived in the UK alone to claim asylum went missing while in local authority care last year.

The data released on Tuesday, which charities say exposes widespread failures in the system, also found that those groups of children are at particularly high risk of sexual or criminal exploitation or other types of harm when they are missing.

It comes as The Independent and the charity Missing People continue the SafeCall appeal, aiming to raise £165,000 to fund a new free service offering support and safety to the 70,000 children reported missing each year.

The report, conducted by the children’s rights organisation Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT) UK and Missing People, was based on Freedom of Information data requested from children’s services departments in the UK.

Jane Hunter, head of research and impact at Missing People, said: “Trafficked and unaccompanied children are disappearing from care at alarming rates, suggesting that effective safeguards are often not in place for these children.

“Every child deserves to feel safe and protected, yet trafficked and unaccompanied children are repeatedly failed by the systems meant to care for them. This report is a stark reminder that urgent action is needed to prevent these children from disappearing and falling into dangerous situations.”