A new report has uncovered an alarming crisis within the UK's care system, revealing that nearly 2,400 vulnerable children disappeared from local authority care last year.
Widespread Safeguarding Failures Exposed
The joint investigation by charities ECPAT UK and Missing People found that the children who vanished were identified as either trafficked or unaccompanied asylum seekers. The data, which covers the year 2024, shows that this is not an isolated incident but part of a persistent failure to protect these young people over the last decade.
Charities state that these safeguarding failures are placing children at extremely high risk of sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, and other serious harms.
Shocking Scale of Disappearances
The figures from the report are stark. They indicate that 37 per cent of all suspected trafficked children and 13 per cent of unaccompanied children in local authority care went missing in 2024. This equates to a total of nearly 2,400 individual children who disappeared from a system meant to protect them.
Harriette Boucher reported on Tuesday 25 November 2025 that the CEO of Missing People has emphasised why their SafeCall service will be a vital lifeline for children in such precarious situations.
Calls for Action and Government Response
In response to these findings, leading organisations are demanding urgent and systemic reform. Their key recommendations include:
- Providing appropriate, safe accommodation for all trafficked and unaccompanied children.
- Improving awareness and use of the National Referral Mechanism, the government's framework for identifying and supporting victims of modern slavery.
The government has acknowledged significant failings within the children's social care system. It has pointed to the proposed Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill as a major legislative overhaul intended to address these critical issues.
Meanwhile, The Independent and Missing People are continuing their SafeCall appeal to raise essential funds for support services that offer a direct line of help to missing and vulnerable children.
