Asylum Seekers (Hansard, 27 February 2002)

§ Mr. Woodward
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what resources have been made available for counselling unaccompanied asylum seeking children suspected to be at risk of being victims of trafficking. [36640]

§ Jacqui Smith
No specific resources have been made available for counselling accompanied asylum seeking children suspected to be at risk of being victims of trafficking. However, eligible unaccompanied asylum seeking children will have access to the full range of local services.

§ Mr. Woodward
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many places are available in safe houses in the United Kingdom for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children suspected to be at risk of being victims of trafficking. [36641]

§ Jacqui Smith
The information requested is not collected centrally.

§ Mr. Woodward
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has undertaken into the disappearance of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from social services care for the suspected purpose of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation; and what resources have been made available for this research. [36642]

§ Jacqui Smith
No specific research has been undertaken into the disappearance of unaccompanied asylum seeking children from social services' care for the purposes of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. We are aware that a number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children in care in West Sussex have in the past gone missing, and that West Sussex Social Services Department and Sussex police have put in place protocols and procedures to help tackle this problem.