LGA responds to APPG report on ‘absent' children

26 May 2016 10:41 AM

Cllr Richard Watts, Vice-Chair of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, responded to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children and Adults Inquiry into the safeguarding of ‘absent' children

"Any child missing for any length of time is a cause for concern for everyone involved, and it's concerning that there is currently considerable inconsistency in responses across the country. We strongly support the aims within this report to bring clarity and consistency to this highly complex issue, to make sure that organisations work together effectively to find missing children as quickly as possible.

"Any new approach to risk assessment should be developed alongside frontline social workers to make sure that it will work in practice. It's also vital that councils and others continue to focus on preventing children from going missing in the first place, and seek to understand the reasons that children have gone missing to provide the appropriate help and support on their return home."

Vew report: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/sites/default/files/appg-absent-inquiry-final-report-may-2016.pdf