Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many unaccompanied children accommodated in Home Office operated hotels (a) have gone missing since July 2021 and (b) are missing as of 13 June 2023.

We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in hotels are safe and supported 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. All contingency sites have security staff on site 24/7 and providers liaise closely with local police to ensure the welfare and safety of vulnerable residents.

There are 154 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) missing as of 8 June 2023.

If any child goes missing, including UASCs, the MARS (Missing After Reasonable Steps) protocol is followed. A multi-agency, missing persons meeting is chaired by the local authority to establish the young person's whereabouts and to ensure that they are safe. Similar protocols within police forces have safely reduced the number of missing episodes from placements by 36%.

The Home Office continue to work with the police and local authorities to ensure the children in our care are safe. The police are responsible for locating any missing children.