Children removed from families in the last 5 years

Dyddiad y datganiad:
4 September 2023

FOI REF: FOI-2023-1308

You asked

We request the national statistics for:

  1. How many Minors/Children of the families of The United Kingdom have been Removed, relocated or transported in the last 5 years.

  2. How many official Court order's have been provided to the families of the Unlawfully removed children?

  3. How many Children have been reported missing in the United Kingdom in the last 5 years?

  4. How many Court orders have been provided by The Royal Courts of Justice for the removal of children from parents in the last 5 year?

  5. How many Police Forces in the United Kingdom assist in the removal of Minors?

  6. How many failing's/Convictions against the Local Authority's have been reported to the office of national statistics in the last 5 years?

  7. How many organisation's/ Agents or Private contractors have been convicted of the unlawful trafficking of Minors in the last 5 years? We request the Number of: Children removed from Families in the last 5 years with a geographical-by County

We said

Thank you for your request.

Unfortunately, we are not able to provide all the information requested, as we do not hold data on offences specified in your request.  

In regards to your request on child trafficking. The UK government uses the National Referral Mechanism to record potential victims of modern slavery, which includes trafficking. The National Referral Mechanism (NRM) currently provides the best measure of potential victims, although is known to be an undercount. 

Our publication Child victims of modern slavery in the UK: March 2022 provides statistics on child victims of modern slavery and trafficking using the National Referral Mechanism and police recorded crime.  

In regards to your request on missing children, Reported missing persons cases are recorded by the UK Missing Persons Unit, part of the National Crime Agency. They provide a breakdown by age and by sex in their annual Missing Persons Statistical Bulletin. If you have further questions on this data, you can contact the Missing Persons Unit at ukmpu@nca.gov.uk.  

We are unable to provide statistics on court orders or removal of children from families. The Ministry of Justice publishes a quarterly bulletin of Family Court Statistics, which may be of some use. You can contact them for further information at ESD@justice.gov.uk.  

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