More than 2,000 trafficked children and unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors disappeared from social services’ care across the UK in the past year, according to new freedom of information (FoI) data shared with the Guardian. The findings, published in a major report titled Until Harm Ends, reveal the scale of a safeguarding crisis affecting some of the most vulnerable young people in the country.
The report’s authors submitted FoI requests to children’s services departments in councils across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to examine the fate of children who had been identified as trafficked or who arrived alone seeking asylum. Data from 135 local authorities showed that out of 2,335 children known or suspected to have been trafficked, 864 – roughly 37% – were reported missing from care.
A further 141 councils provided data on unaccompanied child asylum seekers. Of the 11,999 lone children in their care, 1,501 – around 13% – had gone missing. Charities warn these children are at “very high risk” of exploitation and harm.
High Risk of Exploitation and Re-Trafficking
Many of the trafficked children were British nationals, while others came from overseas, often having endured sexual exploitation or criminal exploitation, including involvement in county lines drug networks.
The report warns that insecure immigration status can increase the likelihood of children going missing, leaving them vulnerable to re-trafficking and further abuse. It describes a “continuing and significant failure” to protect young people, despite local authorities having a statutory duty to safeguard them under child protection law.
Gaps in Protection and Accommodation Failures
Unlike most areas of child welfare, there is no published central government dataset on trafficked or missing unaccompanied children, leaving the full scale of the problem unclear. The report urges councils and police forces to follow safeguarding best practice and calls on the Department for Education to guarantee safe accommodation for all trafficked and unaccompanied children.
Since September 2021, children under 16 who are in care must be placed in settings that provide day-to-day support. However, 16- and 17-year-olds can still be placed in “supported accommodation” without on-site care. In extreme cases, these older children may be housed in hostels, caravans, tents, boats, or shared homes with unrelated adults – arrangements that experts warn significantly increase the risk of abuse.
Charities Say Systems Are Failing Vulnerable Young People
Patricia Durr, chief executive of ECPAT UK, said the findings show how deeply the system is failing vulnerable children. She warned that these young people are being “punished by policies that exacerbate the problem” and treated as political tools in divisive debates.
Jane Hunter, head of research and impact at Missing People, said: “Every child deserves to feel safe and protected, yet trafficked and unaccompanied children are repeatedly failed by the very systems designed to safeguard them.”
Government Cites Planned Reforms to Fix ‘Failing’ System
A government spokesperson said ministers had “inherited a children’s social care system failing to meet the needs of the country’s most vulnerable children”. They highlighted the forthcoming children’s wellbeing and schools bill, which the government says represents the biggest overhaul of children’s social care in a generation.
The reforms include increasing the availability of care placements, improving information sharing, establishing mandatory multi-agency child protection teams nationwide, and introducing new legal duties to ensure education and childcare providers are included in safeguarding arrangements. Officials say the changes are designed to prevent vulnerable children from “falling through the cracks”.
UK Missing Children Crisis Intensifies
The UK has faced increasing scrutiny over the disappearance of unaccompanied children, particularly those housed in Home Office-run hotels, dozens of whom vanished in previous years. In January 2023, ministers confirmed that hundreds of asylum-seeking children had gone missing from these hotels, prompting widespread criticism and a warning from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration.
Children’s charities argue that without urgent systemic reform, the number of missing children will continue to rise.
