More than 2,000 trafficked children and lone child asylum seekers missing from UK councils’ care
More than 2,000 children who have been trafficked or who arrived in the UK alone to claim asylum disappeared from social services’ care last year, according to freedom of information data shared with the Guardian,The authors of a report, Until Harm Ends, submitted FoI requests to children’s services departments in councils across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland asking for information about trafficked children and those who arrived alone in the UK and claimed asylum, who then went missing after being taken into care,Data from 135 local authorities revealed that out of 2,335 children identified as having been trafficked or suspected of having been trafficked, 864 (37%) were reported missing,A total of 141 local authorities responded to questions about lone child asylum seekers in their care, who amounted to 11,999 children,Of these, 1,501 (13%) were reported missing.
The report, published on Monday by the charities ECPAT UK (Every Child Protected Against Trafficking) and Missing People, warns that these groups are at “very high risk” of going missing from care.Some trafficked children in the UK are British citizens while others are from overseas.They are likely to have been subjected to either sexual exploitation or criminal exploitation, for example by county lines gangs.Local authorities have a statutory duty to safeguard and support trafficked and unaccompanied children under child protection frameworks.However, there is no published central government data on the issue.
The new report warns that factors such as insecure immigration status can heighten young people’s vulnerability to further harm, placing them at significant risk of re-trafficking and renewed exploitation.It says there is a “continuing and significant failure” in safeguarding and calls on local authorities and police to ensure adherence to good practice.The authors also urge the Department for Education to ensure all trafficked and unaccompanied children can access appropriate accommodation that protects them from being exploited again.Since September 2021, local authorities have been required to ensure that all looked-after children under 16 are placed in settings that provide care.However, 16- and 17-year-olds can still be housed in so-called “supported accommodation” that does not provide day-to-day care.
Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionIn exceptional circumstances, these older children can be placed in hostels, caravans, tents, boats, or shared housing with unrelated adults.Patricia Durr, the chief executive of ECPAT UK, said: “This report highlights the risk trafficked and unaccompanied children face.It remains challenging to understand why these children continue to be failed.They are consistently let down by the systems meant to support them, whilst being punished by policies that exacerbate the problem and used by a political rhetoric that seeks to create division.”Jane Hunter, the head of research and impact at Missing People, said: “Every child deserves to feel safe and protected, yet trafficked and unaccompanied children are repeatedly failed by the very systems designed to safeguard them.
”A government spokesperson said: “This government inherited a children’s social care system failing to meet the needs of the country’s most vulnerable children.Our landmark children’s wellbeing and schools bill is the biggest overhaul of children’s social care in a generation, delivering on our mission to break the link between young people’s background and their future success, and to ensure every child in our country, including those in care, has the opportunity to thrive.“This includes improving the availability of care placements, better information sharing, requiring the establishment of multi-agency child protection teams in every area, and introducing a new duty on partners to automatically include education and childcare settings in their safeguarding arrangements to help prevent children falling through the cracks.”
Kristen Bell and Brian Cox among actors shocked they’re attached to Fox News podcast
The Fox News announcement of a new podcast series on Jesus Christ has turned into a bizarre holiday tale in Hollywood, as several actors attached to massive, 52-episode project claim their recordings date back 15 years and are being released without their prior knowledge.The new audiobook titled The Life of Jesus Christ Podcast, announced on Wednesday as part of a splashy rollout for the network’s new Christian vertical called Fox Faith, purports to guide listeners “through the life, teachings, and miracles of Jesus Christ”, with each episode introduced by Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt.The announcement boasted that more than 100 actors had signed on to participate in the project, with a voice cast including Kristen Bell as Mary Magdalene, Sean Astin as Matthew, Neal McDonough as Jesus, Brian Cox as the Voice of God, Malcolm McDowell as Caiaphas, John Rhys-Davies as the narrator and Julia Ormond as Mary.But reps for Bell claim that the actor was blindsided by the announcement, as she had recorded the audio 15 years ago. She only learned that Fox planned to release a podcast with her name attached the day before the announcement, when her team received an invitation to appear on Fox & Friends the following day, her reps told Rolling Stone
The Guide #218: For gen Zers like me, YouTube isn’t an app or a website – it’s the backdrop to our waking lives
Barely a month goes by without more news of streaming sites overtaking traditional, terrestrial TV. Predominant among those sits YouTube, with more than 2.5 billion monthly viewers. For people my age – a sprightly 28 – and younger, YouTube is less of an app or website than our answer to radio: the ever-present background hum of modern life. While my mum might leave Radio 4 wittering or BBC News flickering in the corner as she potters about the house, I’ve got a video essay about Japan’s unique approach to urban planning playing on my phone
Stephen Colbert on Trump v Epstein files: ‘Fighting tooth and cankle’
Late-night hosts reacted to Donald Trump signing a bill to release the Epstein files while still trying to distract from them.Stephen Colbert celebrated the impending release of all files related to the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. “After months of Trump fighting tooth and cankle to hold back the Republican party from doing the right thing, he just went ahead and gave up and signed the bill to release the Epstein files,” the Late Show host explained a day after Congress voted near unanimously to compel the justice department to make the files public within 30 days.“Even though Trump told Republicans to all vote for this, he was clearly furious that they did,” Colbert continued. Trump signed the bill after the White House issued a so-called photo lid, which shut down any on-camera opportunities
After 10 years talking to knights, squires and wizards, I understand why ren fairs are booming
“I dunno what to tell ya, mate,” a young knight once told me through his helm’s lifted visor. “Gettin’ shield bashed just feels good.”For the knaves among thee, a “shield bash” is what it sounds like: to bash, or be bashed, with a shield. It’s simple and to the point, like a mace to the face or an arrow to the knee. Witnessing a shield bash, you understand the “haha yesss” that the basher must feel upon bashing, just as you empathetically presume a long “oh noooooo” on behalf of the bashee
Seth Meyers on Epstein files: ‘It’s obvious why Trump fought so hard to stop this bill from passing’
Late-night hosts reacted to the congressional vote sending the bill to release all files related to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein to the desk of his former friend Donald Trump.It was a tough Tuesday for Trump, who lost his months-long battle to stop the release of the Epstein files on Tuesday after Congress passed a bill forcing the justice department publish them. “So now Trump is doing a 180,” said Seth Meyers on Wednesday’s Late Night.“He says he’ll sign the bill that forces him to release the files he could’ve released on his own but wouldn’t, thus requiring a bill to force him to do the thing he didn’t want to do that he’ll now be forced to do because of the bill he was against that he will now sign.”“It’s obvious why Trump fought so hard to stop this bill from passing,” Meyers later added
My cultural awakening: I moved across the world after watching a Billy Connolly documentary
I was 23 and thought I had found my path in life. I’d always wanted to work with animals, and I had just landed a job as a vet nurse in Melbourne. I was still learning the ropes, but I imagined I would stay there for years, building a life around the work. Then, five months in, the vet called me into his office and told me it wasn’t working out. “It’s not you,” he said, “I just really hate training people
European defence company shares fall amid Ukraine peace talk hopes; Novo Nordisk reports Ozempic fails to help with Alzheimer’s – as it happened
More than 650 jobs at risk as scrap metals giant files for liquidation
Can’t tech a joke: AI does not understand puns, study finds
Civil liberties groups call for inquiry into UK data protection watchdog
England know how to win under Borthwick – now to handle great expectations | Gerard Meagher
Budget may deliver result desired from racing’s ‘Axe the Tax’ campaign