Why do some asylum-seeking children go missing?

Kent County Council says it works closely with Kent Police, the Home Office and carers

More than 50 of the lone asylum-seeking children who went missing from council care in Kent over a six-year period are unaccounted for, BBC South East can reveal.

Figures obtained from Kent County Council show that 52 under-18s disappeared from care and did not return between 2018-19 and 2023-24.

KCC says it works closely with Kent Police, the Home Office and carers to reduce the risk of unaccompanied asylum-seeking (UAS) children going permanently missing and keep them safe.

The council said the percentage going missing continued to fall despite the increasing numbers of children coming into its temporary care.

Roger Gough, leader of Kent County Council, said that any child or young person going missing was a "serious concern" and the council made "every effort to prevent this from happening".

"We also work to address factors that can cause them to go missing – such as seeking contact with extended family or friends who may already be in the UK," he said.

He added that it was "important to remember these children are not in detention while in our care" and that it was "unlawful to restrict the freedom of any child or young person without the permission of the courts".

In 2023-24 there were 265 missing episodes involving 153 children, according to figures obtained by the BBC using a Freedom of Information request.

The highest number of missing incidents that year involved children from Afghanistan, Albania and Iran.

The youngest person that went missing was a 13-year-old, who had disappeared for one hour.

The longest period of time that a child has gone missing before being found again in the last six years was 338 days.

Justine Carter is from Unseen, which runs the national Modern Day Slavery Helpline

The charity Unseen, which runs the modern day slavery helpline, said some youngsters were at risk of exploitation and trafficking.

Justine Carter, the charity's executive director, said children who go missing face "significant risks".

"They might find themselves being encouraged or coerced into participating in criminal activity, or they might be targeted for sexual exploitation," she said.

Concerns about missing asylum-seeking children attracted national attention when some disappeared from hotels that were being used to temporarily house them by the Home Office, a policy which they have now ended.

The Children's Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza told a Commons committee this month that some children who had been placed in hotels by the Home Office, outside of council care, were still missing.

The charity Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK (ECPAT UK) said it was concerned unaccompanied asylum-seeking children could be approached by traffickers within the UK.

Patricia Durr, the chief executive of the charity, said: "In our work, many of the children who are unaccompanied have been trafficked into the UK, trafficked en route, or trafficked here.

"They are separated from home, families, friends and communities and they need more care.

"Our concern is that once a child does go missing they are either being exploited, or they will be more vulnerable to exploitation or trafficking."

But Tim Loughton, the former Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham who was a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, previously told BBC South East that not all of the children are the target of people traffickers.

"A large proportion are from Albania and we know from what's happened to missing children from hotels, they haven't actually been abducted, many have left of their own accord and have teamed up with relatives or friends from Albania and they're living with them," he said.

"It's not the case that they've ended up with criminal gangs, although it may be the case for some, which is why we need to keep a proper track of everybody."