Victoria Hull, National Development Worker of the Care Leavers’ Association, speaking at today’s Public Policy Exchange Symposium on Child Trafficking in the UK: Identifying and Safeguarding Vulnerable Children, said:

‘It is worrying that so many of the UK’s most vulnerable young people continue to disappear into thin air. It is imperative that every local authority keeps a central record of all missing looked after children and their current status and this is still not happening. As the corporate parent, local authorities have a particular responsibility towards these young people. Any parent who had an untraced child would be frantic with worry – our view is that local authorities should feel the same way.

Unaccompanied asylum seeking young people are obviously particularly vulnerable and should be appointed a Guardian on arrival who can advocate on their behalf. They should be safely housed away from known trafficking routes’

For more information:

Victoria Hull at the CLA office: 0161 236 1980 or Victoria@careleavers.com