A report by GRETA, the Council of Europe’s anti-trafficking watchdog, warns that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) in the UK are being placed in unsuitable accommodation, putting them at heightened risk of trafficking and exploitation in contravention of government guidance.

Due to shortages of foster families and children’s homes, many UASC have been placed in hotels, caravans and unregulated settings. Between July 2021 and June 2023, around 5,400 unaccompanied children were housed in Home Office-commissioned hotels, with several hundred going missing. The use of hotels was ruled unlawful by the High Court and abandoned in January 2024.

Recent immigration legislation is said to have further increased the vulnerability of unaccompanied children. The report calls for improved and timely age assessments, stronger safeguarding, measures to prevent children going missing and increased funding for local authorities to meet their statutory duties.