Dozens of London children go missing from out-of-area care
Laura McCardle
Monday, April 14, 2014
Children from London who are placed in care outside of their home area are going missing on average every two and a half days, it has emerged.
Statistics collated following Freedom of Information requests by the London Assembly's Liberal Democrat group show that in 2013, a total of 141 looked-after children from London went missing for more than 24 hours after being placed in out-of-area care.
That represents an average of one child every 2.6 days.
The figure is based on responses from 15 of the 32 London authorities contacted, so the true number could be far higher.
Of those authorities that did provide figures, Lewisham Council alone was responsible for 17 young people who went missing from out-of-area placements in 2013.
The overall 2013 figure is a slight reduction on 2012, when 159 children went missing for more than 24 hours from out-of area placements, based on responses from 16 London boroughs.
The research also shows that 135 children went missing for more than 24 hours after being placed in care within the borough's boundaries during 2013.
Caroline Pidgeon, author of the report and Lib Dem spokesperson on police and crime in the London Assembly, said local authorities are failing their duty to protect vulnerable children, and criticised local authorities that were unable to provide figures.
“A local authority looked-after child who goes missing for 24 hours or more is immediately at serious risk, including, at worse, the risk of physical abuse," she said.
She added that young people who go missing could be targeted by gangs for sexual abuse.
“The widespread failure to keep some of the most vulnerable children in our society safe while they are in the legal care of a local authority is nothing short of a disgrace," she said.
“It is time that all councils in London actively gathered data on children gone missing and then used this information to put policies in place to keep children safe.”
The report comes amid growing concern about the use of out-of-area care placements.
Recent research on the issue by Ofsted found that local authorities are not sufficiently supporting children who are placed far from home.
Meanwhile, a report by the education select committee recently called on the government to end unnecessary out-of-area placements, stating that local authorities must ensure they have enough suitable placements in their area.
