Every Child Protected Against Trafficking (ECPAT UK) and Missing People have published a new report on unaccompanied and trafficked children going missing from care in the UK. The report looks at the scale of the issue and draws data from Freedom of Information (FOI) requests issued to local authority children’s services. Findings show that trafficked children continue to be one of the groups who are most at risk of going missing with nearly 2 in 5 going missing from care in 2024. Unaccompanied children also remain at greater risk of going missing with a rate of 13% compared to 10% of the looked after child population in England. These children remain at high risk of going missing from care, a persistent finding over the last decade which the report highlights as a continuing and significant failure in safeguarding. Recommendations include calls for local authorities and police forces to ensure new arrivals to the UK are supported and focus on preventing children from going missing.
Read the report: Until harm ends: an update report on trafficked and unaccompanied children going missing from care in the UK
Source: ECPAT UK
Date published: 24 November 2025
