Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the extent of racial disparities in investigations of missing person cases.

People that go missing include some of the most vulnerable in our society. The Government is determined that missing people and their families receive the best possible protection and support from statutory agencies, including law enforcement, Government, and the voluntary sector.

The Government acknowledges that the most recent data published by the National Crime Agency, covering the period 2020-21, indicated that Black people are disproportionately affected by missing incidents: http://missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/resources/downloads/missing-persons-statistical-bulletins.

This aligns with the findings from The Ethnicity of Missing People report, which also indicates the over-representation of Black children in care in missing reports.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council is leading work with police forces across England and Wales, the charity ‘Missing People’ and the NCA Missing Persons Unit on the issue of racial disparity in relation to missing people. They are looking at local force data to identify any possible racial disparity issues and what action is needed to address these.

This Government is focused on improving the police response to missing people from all backgrounds and on addressing racial and ethnic disparities, wherever these exist.