Since August 2021, 137 Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) have been reported missing from one hotel in Brighton & Hove used by the Home Office to accommodate them. 76 of those reported missing have currently not been located.
Many of these children will have been traumatised by their experiences before arriving in the UK and on their journeys to the UK. They have to deal with this without family support – they are unaccompanied. All of them are extremely vulnerable.
The situation is deeply upsetting and distressing for all those affected, for local communities and for those seeking to support the children.
Safeguarding is everybody`s responsibility, whether children have looked after or child in need status or not.
The scale of this tragedy has given rise to significant concern. One missing child is one too many.
50 children`s and refugee charities wrote to the government to raise concerns about vulnerable children being placed in hotels. The chief executive of the Children’s Society said:
“Many of these children and young people have fled war and persecution and witnessed often unimaginable scenes. They arrive on our shores frightened and traumatised. For them to then be moved into hotels and holding facilities and left without the care, accommodation and health checks they need is beyond shocking.”
SIS, alongside other local refugee support organisations, raised concerns about exploitation and trafficking in August 2021 – within a few days of the first unaccompanied children being placed in Brighton & Hove.
Statement on missing children in Brighton & Hove – Sanctuary on Sea (cityofsanctuary.org)
Tragically, these fears have been realised for some of these children.
Our vision is of an inclusive and diverse society where people of all cultural and linguistic backgrounds are able to live in harmony, play a full and valued role and enjoy the same rights.
We want Asylum-seeking children to have access to the same rights as UK citizen children.
The Equality Act means equality for all! ‘[n]o child or group of children must be treated any less favourably than others in being able to access effective services which meet their particular needs`.
Our vision and values drive our actions. That is why we have been raising our voice against this injustice. We must be a City of Sanctuary for everybody. Everyone is welcome in our city, and all deserve to be protected.
We are part of a local `Homes Not Hotels` campaign that has organised 3 public protests to date. The use of hotels needs to stop. What was a crisis response has become a core response.
Resources need to be given to Local Authorities to care for children in line with the law – the Children’s Act- to be protected and safeguarded by Local Authorities. Looked after children should be in supportive foster homes.
There needs to be greater accountability across all Local Authorities for the National Transfer Scheme, with responsibility for ongoing care of children shared equitably.
Primary responsibility lies with the Home Office. We fully support this statement from our colleagues:
Our Statement on Missing Children in Brighton and Hove (hummingbirdproject.org.uk)
Brighton & Hove City Council must commit to using all their influence and power to immediately produce and implement a viable plan of action to safeguard these children.
The Brighton & Hove Safeguarding Children`s Partnership (BHSCP) published a scrutiny report into this situation on 28th February 2023.
The report concludes that the current system is not fit for purpose and worryingly;
“unless there is systematic change in the way UASC children are initially assessed, housed and transferred into the care of Local Authorities then there is nothing to indicate a reduction in missing episodes will occur… without significant intervention, this issue is likely to recur in spring and summer this year.. Planning to deal with this is essential.”
You can read the report and the Council response here:
UASC-Scrutiny-Report-FINAL-23-02-2023.pdf (bhscp.org.uk)
Response to the independent scrutiny report on missing unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (brighton-hove.gov.uk)
We broadly welcome the report. We want to see the recommendations developed and implemented.
However, due to the `fast-time` production of this report conversations with the voluntary sector seem to have been limited to one individual. Several organisations have worked hard to gain access and trust and provide invaluable services to the children and their experiences need to be part of any learning and inform planning.
We also believe that conversations are needed with the Refugee Council who provided support to children in the hotels from July 2021 to January 2022 and whose presence may have prevented exploitation.
The report acknowledges the essential challenge and support that the Community & Voluntary Sector provides and adds; “it is important that the city`s excellent voluntary organisations are considered when devising any multi-agency strategic plan”.
We will continue to work with BHCC to deliver their responsibility to safeguard every child. We want to see a strengthened safeguarding response. We believe there is more preventative work to be considered.
Lastly, we attended the special council meeting on 2nd March 2023 that discussed this situation. You can read a report here:
What has happened to asylum-seeker children missing from Hove hotel? | The Argus
The level of the debate was disappointing. There was a lack of focus on preventative and protective actions. This felt like a lost opportunity and will do little or nothing to protect children.
Arran Evans – Director – Sussex Interpreting Services
07765315822
arran@sussexinterpreting.org.uk
