The Children, Young People and Education Committee is conducting an inquiry into Children and Young People on the Margins, which in summary relates to missing children and those vulnerable to criminal exploitation.
This inquiry follows on from the Committee’s report into radical change for care experienced children. From the evidence received, children are estimated to make up almost 40% of children who go missing in Wales. Also, it has been reported that specific groups thought to be at risk of being ‘criminalised’ include care experienced children, unaccompanied asylum seeker-children and young people educated otherwise than at school, black and minority ethnic children and young people.
This inquiry will focus on:
Missing children:
- Nature and scale: of the issue and regional variations
- At risk groups: including the impact of care experience and out of area placements
- Practice: issues such as information sharing and data collection.
- Policy: The effectiveness of devolved policy and practice responses, including Welsh Government oversight. Whether there is effective read across to relevant WG (Welsh Government) strategies.
- Devolved and UK powers: How joined up is the interface between devolved and non-devolved policy such as criminal and youth justice.
Children and young people who are victims of criminal exploitation:
- Nature and scale: across Wales and regional variations (e.g. traditional, drug related, sexual, financial,).
- At risk groups: including care experience, children experiencing trauma in the home and children not enrolled in mainstream education.
- Policy: The effectiveness of devolved policy including Welsh Government oversight. Whether there effective read across to relevant WG strategies such as Child Sexual Exploitation.
- Practice: Approaches to prevention, community resilience, early intervention, support provided and exit strategies for victims. Practice issues such as information sharing and data collection.
- Devolved and UK powers: How joined up is the interface between devolved and non-devolved policy such as criminal and youth justice. Are there any points of tension between criminal law and safeguarding.
Other groups: You may wish to identify other groups of children “on the margins”. These would be groups of children in circumstances that require a specific response from children’s services or other statutory providers and for which there are concerns about the current policy or practice.
Evidence gathering
A written consultation has been launched, the closing date is Thursday 28 March 2024, please refer to the consultation page on how to submit your response. The Committee will commence taking oral evidence and engagement work in the summer term.
Consultations
Posted on Thursday 8th February 2024