A BBC investigation has revealed that more than 150 children placed in care in the south east of England have disappeared over the last three years. Of those, 65 disappeared from Gatwick Airport, 69 from Kent and 27 from Surrey. Depressingly and predictably, it is believed they were trafficked.
While the apparent lack of progress in catching and punishing traffickers is something I understand, the raw deal their victims receive from statutory services is harder to fathom. Four years ago a single safe house existed in the country to accommodate suspected trafficking victims. Now, when arguably the need for specialist provision is at its greatest, there are no dedicated services. Some foster carers are prepared to accept the not insignificant risks attached to becoming specialists in this area. Aside from that there is nothing. Police officers based at airports, such as Heathrow, are often left in the impossible position of ringing round councils in the vain hope that one of them may accept responsibility for a child, a child that nobody except a trafficker wants.
There have been plans afoot and funding in place for at least two years for a social worker to work across London as part of the Metropolitan police's Paladin Child operation. So far nobody has been appointed. The reason for that is a mystery.
But somebody to negotiate a safe route, and mediate squabbles between children's services departments, is badly needed. Departments are not adequately resourced to cope with the number of unaccompanied minors arriving at UK ports and they should of course been allocated more cash. I know that. But then they aren't adequately resourced to do many things. Councils attempting to offload a child is, nevertheless, a sad and undignified image, isn't it?