Joint working must improve to help young runaways

Statutory guidance, published today, asks local authorities to develop clear roles between local services and the police for safeguarding runaway children.

It states that each local authority must name a person who is responsible for runaways and asks for the voluntary sector to be considered as providers of independent services for young runaways.

Geoff Newiss, director of policy at charity Missing People, said: "The task ahead is to make sure this guidance brings about real improvements at a local level to the problems facing young people and the availability of places and people who can help them at their time of need."

As well as ensuring there are effective services for young people, such as out-of-hours services and emergency accommodation, the guidance asks local authorities to tackle the root of the problem by holding "return interviews", to explore the reasons why young people ran away.

Andy McCullough, chairman of the English Coalition for Runaway Children, which helped develop the guidance, said: "If local authorities, police and the voluntary sector work together this should lead to less young people feeling the need to run away and for those that do, a network of projects and services that will contribute to their safety."