Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many pupils have gone missing from school registers in the last 10 years in total, and in each year.

The Government does not collect data on children who are not registered pupils at a school. Local authorities have a duty under s.436A of the Education Act 1996 to make arrangements to establish the identities of children who are not receiving a suitable education. This would include collecting as much information as necessary to establish the whereabouts of children who are potentially missing education and whether they are receiving suitable education.