She argued that it is necessary to identify children and young people who run away from home or care so they can be supported.
"It does not seem too much to ask that vulnerable children are identified so that they can be helped, that information is collected when a child is reported missing to the police and that there is effective coordination between the police, health authorities and local authorities," she said.
At present there is no requirement to gather data on the number of children and young people who run away from home or care. It is estimated that 100,000 children run away each year, and around 10,000 are hurt or harmed while missing.
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