The government is not going to launch a national action plan on missing children and young runaways, it appears, much to the disappointment of campaigners.
Children's minister Tim Loughton broke the news at an all party parliamentary group on young runaways and missing children this week, despite recognising the "strong link between children who run away and sexual exploitation", and admitting that the government has some "very unreliable and patchy data" he does not trust.
(This reflects our investigation in November which revealed local authorities up and down the country are flouting their legal duties by failing to keep accurate records of children missing from care.)
Andy McCullough from the charity Railway Children said: "We urge this government to understand that affirmative action can only begin with their support being given to councils to keep more accurate records of children missing from home and care. This is vital intelligence."
Picture credit: Jack!
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