Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
Her Majesty's Government when they will publish updated guidance on (1) safeguarding children who may have been trafficked, and (2) care of unaccompanied and trafficked children.
Answered by Lord Nash
There are no plans to update the practice guidance ‘Safeguarding children who may have been trafficked’. The revised statutory guidance ‘The care of unaccompanied asylum seeking and trafficked children’ will be published this autumn.
The training for foster carers and support workers that DfE commissioned from the Refugee Council and ECPAT enables those caring for unaccompanied and trafficked children to understand the challenges and risks facing these children, and equips participants with the knowledge and tools to respond effectively to their needs. Participants were also provided with access to an e-learning course to help recognise the needs of child and adult victims of trafficking and guidance on actions carers and professionals should take to identify and safeguard victims.
Foster carers and support workers attended training courses located in 48 local authorities (see list below). Training was not limited to carers from those authorities.
The forthcoming safeguarding strategy for unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children will address the need for any additional training required by foster carers and support workers to care for children who are, or might be, victims of human trafficking and exploitation.
Further to the training which has recently commissioned, the statutory guidance on ‘The care of unaccompanied asylum seeking and trafficked children’ states that “Everyone involved in the care of unaccompanied and trafficked children should be trained to recognise and understand the particular issues likely to be faced by these children. This includes recognising the indicators of trafficking as a child’s previous history or current experience of being trafficked might not be apparent on entering care."
List of local authorities where the training by ECPAT and Refugee Council was located:
Bolton
Bournemouth
Bristol
Bromley
Cambridgeshire
Camden
Cheshire East
Cornwall
Coventry
Croydon
Derbyshire
Devon
Doncaster
East Riding
Essex
Gloucestershire
Hampshire
Haringey
Harrow
Hertfordshire
Kent
Lambeth
Lancashire
Leeds
Leicester City
Leicestershire
Liverpool
Manchester
Medway
Merton
Middlesbrough
North Somerset
North Tyneside
Northumberland
Nottingham City
Oldham
Sheffield
Shropshire
Somerset
Staffordshire
Suffolk
Sunderland
Thurrock
Walsall
Warrington
West Sussex
Wiltshire
Worcestershire
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
Her Majesty's Government whether social workers working with children who show indicators that they may be victims of modern slavery receive any training on the Achieving Best Evidence guidelines.
Answered by Lord Nash
The government recognises the need for a well-trained social work workforce and continues to invest in their education and training. The knowledge and skills statements set out what they should know and be able to do. Copies of the statements are attached.
In general the training needs of individual social workers are a matter for them and their employers, but where a need is identified we would expect relevant activity to be undertaken. We are, however, aware that many local authorities provide training on modern slavery for their social workers.
Asked by: Lord McColl of Dulwich (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
Her Majesty's Government how many children referred to the National Referral Mechanism for victims of modern slavery in each year since 2010 were placed under a care order according to section 31 of the Children Act 1989; and what were the nationalities of those children.
Answered by Lord Nash
The department does not collect the information requested.