Source · Select Committees · Home Affairs Committee
Recommendation 102
102
Rejected
Paragraph: 302
Consider every child missing from home or care as a potential victim of trafficking.
Conclusion
Every child who goes missing from home or care should be considered as a potential victim of trafficking, even if they are subsequently found safe.
Government Response Summary
The government rejected the recommendation for a blanket National Referral Mechanism (NRM) referral for every missing child, arguing it would remove case-specific considerations, create undue pressure, and potentially lead to damaging negative outcomes.
Paragraph Reference:
302
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
113. The Government agrees that the best place for unaccompanied asylum- seeking children (UASC) is within the care of a local authority. Six of seven hotels were closed on 30 November 2023, with the remaining hotel closed 31 January this year. 114. The Modern Slavery Statutory Guidance highlights numerous indicators and factors that first responders should consider when considering making an NRM referral. These indicators and factors mean that each case is unique, and so all cases should be handled with the case-specific information that can be obtained. 115. A policy on blanket NRM referrals for all children who go missing would remove the case-specific nature of the NRM process and may cause more issues than benefits. For example, it may lead to significantly more pressure on decision-making timescales as there would be many more referrals to consider where referrals are made for children who are not potential victims and there are no genuine first responder concerns of trafficking. 116. Additionally, if every missing child were referred into the NRM, this may lead to negative reasonable or conclusive grounds decisions due to a lack of information. This could subsequently be damaging to a child if further information comes to light that they have been trafficked, as relevant professionals may see a child’s previous NRM decision without understanding the level of information considered, so may not feel a new NRM referral is necessary.