Councils have defended their work in protecting child trafficking victims – and called for more government cash. Local authorities hit back after the Commons home affairs committee warned that 60% of trafficked children held in council homes went missing, and were never found. Kent CC's chief executive, Peter Gilroy, challenged the Government to address a lack funding for child asylum-seekers. A Kent CC spokesman said: ‘We have frequently called for the Government to fund the full care costs for these young people, making the point that this is a national issue and not something that should fall unduly on the local authority.' Hillingdon LBC's deputy director of children and families, Julian Wooster, called for more help with the growing tide of young asylum-seekers coming into their care from London's Heathrow Airport. He said: ‘The Government should either provide us with more money or change the legislation.' West Sussex CC's team manager for Gatwick Airport's children's service, Kirsty Hanna, said: ‘Preventing children from going missing does cost us extra money, and we have been struggling with this for the last 18 months. ‘It would benefit everybody if this issue was dealt with more centrally.'
