Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the response to the Urgent Question on 24 January 2023 on Unaccompanied Asylum-seeking Children, Official Report column 859, of 240 missing children that have subsequently been located, whether attempts were made to obtain information from the children on (a) why they went missing, (b) how they went missing and (c) what their experience was whilst missing; and if she will make a statement.

We are considering all options available to ensure unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) receive the critical care they need and to end the use of hotels. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in hotels are as safe and supported as possible as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of social workers and nurses.

Records are kept and monitored of children leaving and returning to the hotel. Support workers will accompany children off site on activities and social excursions, or in this instance where specific vulnerabilities are identified.  The Home Office has no power to hold children in hotels or any temporary accommodation if they wish to leave.

If a child who has gone missing is returned to the hotel, a follow up Multi Agency Stakeholder Forum (MASF) will be chaired by the LA (of the area the hotel is in) and a Social Worker at the hotel will complete a returns interview. They will then work with the child to understand the reasons for the absence.

In any instance where a child goes missing, the Home Office work around the clock with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe. The Police are responsible for locating any missing children.