Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department offers to local authorities for caring for and accommodating victims of child trafficking.

Local authorities have overarching duties in respect of the safeguarding of individual children in their area. Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities are under a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need in their area by providing services to such children and their families. Under section 20, local authorities also have a duty to accommodate such children in need in their area.

Spending on child abuse and neglect is included within local authority core funding for children’s social care which comes from the Department for Community and Local Government’s Formula Grant, and from local taxation.