AQW 30617/22-27

Mrs Michelle Guy
Alliance Party
Lagan Valley

Tabled Date: 08/09/2025
Answered On Date: 23/09/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health, pursuant to AQW 29570/22-27, (i) for a further annual breakdown of the number of children reported missing in excess of 24 hours; and (ii) the longest period a child was missing.

Answer:

Missing > 24 hours 20/21	Missing > 24 hours 21/22	Missing > 24 hours 22/23	Missing > 24 hours 23/24	Missing > 24 hours 24/25
28	32	32	37	25

Pursuant to AQW 29570/22-27, the further annual breakdown of the total number of looked after children who have been reported missing in excess of 24 hours is detailed above.

The table shows the total number of Looked After Children across the 5 HSCT’s who have been notified as being absent or missing from care settings in excess of 24 hours broken down over each of the last five years as requested in the previous AQW 29570/22-27.

My Department receive untoward events notifications from the individual HSCT’s when a child goes missing from care in excess of 24 hours. The Trusts have an obligation to report these young people missing given their vulnerability and assessed risk.

The data collated in respect of missing children displays a degree of regional variation across the HSC Trusts. However due to small numbers of individual children who have been reported missing in excess of 24 hours in some HSC Trust areas and taking into consideration that the release of these individual HSC Trust figures could potentially identify one or more children within this vulnerable group, my Department have provided an overall total of individual missing children for the five HSC Trusts.

My Department in collaboration with the PSNI and HSCTs have developed new Regional Guidance ‘The Interface Protocol between HSC Trusts and PSNI’ (October 2023). This Guidance sets out a broad operational overview of interface arrangements between PSNI and the Residential Children’s Home sector including arrangements for reporting when a child or young person goes missing. The aim of this guidance is to promote an effective joint agency response to missing children.

My Department do not hold data on how long a child is missing. This data would be held by the respective HSC Trust as the HSC Trust’s would hold statutory responsibility for each looked- after child who is reported missing.