FOI request (FOIR-371969102)

Children in Care

Requested Mon 18 October 2021
Responded  Fri 22 October 2021

I am writing to make an open government request for all the information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. The purpose of conducting this research is to protect children from trafficking and we appreciate you help to support our mission.

Please release the following information relating to looked after children in the care of your authority for the periods:

• 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018

• 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019

• 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020

1. The total number of looked after children in the care of your authority that have:

a. Identified as having been trafficked or a victim of modern slavery - including, but not limited to those identified through the National Referral Mechanism.

b. Suspected of having been a victim of trafficking or modern slavery, if not included in (a).

c. Identified as an unaccompanied asylum seeking child (UASC) or a separated child.

d. Identified as being a victim of exploitation.

2. The total number of looked after children in the care of your authority:

a. Identified or suspected as having been trafficked/victim of modern slavery and that have gone missing or absent.

b. Identified as an UASC or separated child and that have gone missing or absent.

c. Identified as being a victim of exploitation and that have gone missing or absent

3. The total number of individual incidents (which could involve the same child on more than one occasion) of looked after children in the care of your authority:

a. Identified or suspected as having been trafficked/victim of modern slavery and that have gone missing or absent.

b. Identified as an UASC or separated child and that have gone missing or absent.

c. Identified as being a victim of exploitation and that have gone missing or absent.

4. The total number of looked after children in the care of your authority that are still missing or absent (including those that subsequently turned 18 without being found) that were identified or suspected as having been trafficked or identified as an UASC or separated child.

5. For all of the above please provide a breakdown of these numbers by year and nationality of the child (for example, British, Vietnamese and so on). If identification is a concern due to small numbers involved, please give the total figures and specify whether the child is British / an EU national / non EU national. For Q3 and Q4, please add the length of time the child was missing during each incident.

Please note that statutory duties include collecting and recording the following:

- Whether a child is a victim of trafficking/modern slavery, or whether there is reason to believe they may be a victim.

- Whether a child is an unaccompanied asylum seeking child (UASC).

- Data on children reported missing from care.

I would be grateful if you could contact me if there are any issues regarding this request as I understand that under the Act, you are required to advise and assist requesters. If any of this information is already in the public domain, please can you direct me to it, with page references and URLs.

Response

Information not held

This area is dealt with by East Sussex County Council Children's Services, please visit their website for further information:

https://www.eastsussex.gov.uk