A damning new report has uncovered that more than 2,000 of the UK's most vulnerable children disappear from social services care each year, revealing profound failures in the system designed to protect them.
Alarming Scale of Disappearances
The joint investigation by children's rights organisation Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT) UK and the charity Missing People, based on Freedom of Information data, found that nearly 2,400 children who were either trafficked or arrived in the UK alone to claim asylum went missing from local authority care last year.
In 2024 alone, the report identified that 2,638 children in local authority care were confirmed or suspected victims of trafficking. Of these, 864 children were reported missing, representing a shocking 37 per cent of this highly vulnerable group.
Similarly, among unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, 1,501 of the 12,530 in local authority care disappeared last year, marking a 13 per cent rate and a 2 per cent increase from the previous year.
Systemic Failures and Exploitation Risks
Charities have sounded the alarm that these figures expose widespread safeguarding failures, with disappeared children facing extreme danger while missing from care.
Jane Hunter, head of research and impact at Missing People, stated: "Trafficked and unaccompanied children are disappearing from care at alarming rates, suggesting that effective safeguards are often not in place for these children."
The report emphasises that these children face particularly high risks of sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, and other serious harms when they go missing. Many have already endured significant trauma before entering the care system.
Laura Duran, head of policy at ECPAT UK, highlighted the human cost: "These children are not just statistics – they are individuals who have already endured unimaginable trauma. When they go missing from care, they are at extreme risk of further exploitation."
Calls for Reform and SafeCall Initiative
The report comes as The Independent and Missing People continue their SafeCall appeal, aiming to raise £165,000 to establish a free service offering support and safety to the 70,000 children reported missing across the UK each year.
Campaigners are demanding systemic reform, including providing appropriate accommodation for all trafficked and unaccompanied children and improving awareness around the National Referral Mechanism used to identify trafficking victims.
Ms Hunter added: "These steps are critical to closing the gaps that traffickers exploit and to restoring trust in the care system."
The report also noted that uncertainty over immigration status often contributes to children disappearing from care, and that the actual figures are likely higher since not all local authorities provided data.
A government spokesperson responded by highlighting their Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, describing it as "the biggest overhaul of children's social care in a generation" aimed at improving care placements and safeguarding arrangements.
