Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the number of children being re-trafficked after going missing from local authority care.

Local authorities are required to report data on all children missing from care or away from placement without authorisation regardless of their immigration or trafficking status.

The National Crime Agency is working with the relevant police leads to ensure the consistent recording of figures on the number of children reported missing to them who were trafficked or unaccompanied.

Working alongside our NGO partners, we have trained thousands of foster carers, so that they are more aware of the specific needs of children who have been trafficked. The Department for Education has recently commissioned 1,000 training places for foster carers and support workers of unaccompanied children to help them support children and prevent them from being re-trafficked.