Please release the following information relating to looked after children in the care of your authority. Please provide the figures per year for the following calendar years: 2018 and 2019
Number of children
-The total number of looked after children in the care of your authority 694 (2018) 750 (2019)
-The total number of looked after children in the care of your authority that have been identified as having been trafficked or a victim of modern slavery. 13 (2018) 5 (2019)
Trafficking in DfE CIN census guidance covers slavery therefore data provided only includes ‘trafficked’ where identified during a child’s assessment, however, this would include types of slavery – snip below from additional guidance for factors at assessment in CIN census which explains this.
Definition of trafficking (code 12A) The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime to the UN Convention (the ‘Palermo Protocol’) defines trafficking as
“the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.” Any child transported for exploitative reasons is considered to be a trafficking victim, whether or not they have been forced or deceived.
-The total number of looked after children in the care of your authority that have been identified as an unaccompanied asylum seeking child (UASC) 35 (2018) 19(2019)
i.e in 2018, there were 300 children under the care of the authority. 12 were identified or suspected as being trafficked or a victim of modern slavery. A further 6 were identified or suspected as being an unaccompanied asylum seeking child.
Missing or absent children
-The total number of looked after children in the care of your authority that have gone missing or absent. 153 (2018) 150(2019)
-The total number of looked after children in the care of your authority who have been identified or suspected as having been trafficked/a victim of modern slavery and have gone missing or absent. 4 each for 2018 and 2019
-The total number of looked after children in the care of your authority identified as an UASC that have gone missing or absent.
5 (2018) 0 (2019)
Duration of absence
–Only if it is possible under the restraints of FOI, please provide the length of time the child was missing during each incident and outline instances where individuals are still missing
2018 – In 2018 148 children went missing. From there 148 children, there were 1200 missing episodes. The child was found within 48 hours in 1120 missing cases.
2019 – In 2019, 147 children went missing. From these 147 children, there were 848 missing episodes. The child was found within 48 hours in 784 missing cases.