§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will issue guidelines on standards of counselling for children who run away from home. [93112]
§ Jacqui SmithThe recent Department of Health guidance, "Children Missing from Care and from Home—a guide to good practice" (November 2002), provides recommendations that a young person or child who goes missing from home may be a child in need and, where appropriate, should have access to an initial assessment provided by the local authority.
This assessment must conform to the requirements of the framework for the assessment of children in need and their families. It should evaluate the risks if a young 824W person were to go missing again and whether or not they and their families might be appropriately offered local support services—such as mediation or counselling.