COUNCILLORS have raised concerns over the decision to stop carrying out interviews with some children who go missing from care in Staffordshire.
Since 2024 Staffordshire County Council has funded return home interviews (RHIs) for children from other authorities who have been placed in Staffordshire.
This is a non-statutory service – councils are only legally required to deliver RHIs for children in their own care, regardless of their geographic location.
Cllr Nicholas Lakin, cabinet member for children and young people at the Reform UK-led county council, made the decision in December to cease funding RHIs.
The remaining money allocated to the service in 2025-26 will be diverted towards RHIs for those in the care of the county council who are placed outside Staffordshire.
But the decision has been called in by 13 members of the Reform UK group who have raised concerns over the safety implications for vulnerable children.
The corporate overview and scrutiny committee will consider the issue when it meets on 12th January.
According to the delegated decision report, the council’s social worker teams are facing “high pressures” and the number of statutory RHIs being successfully completed “needs to improve”.
The report added that diverting funding from non-statutory RHIs will help address this issue.
It explains that “delivering RHIs to this cohort of children is the statutory duty of the local authority placing the child in Staffordshire” – but the Reform councillors who called in the decision say this could put some children at increased risk.
Cllr Anthony Screen said:
“My concern is clear – if we are not fully aware of the risks and do not openly recognise them, we cannot effectively tackle them.
“RHIs are a critical tool for identifying exploitation indicators and understanding why children go missing.”
Cllr Andrew Mynors said:
“I think children missing from home need to be interviewed and this needs to be debated and all angles looked at in more detail.”
The committee will consider the decision and the reasons for the call-in. Members can then decide to support the original decision, refer it back to cabinet or the relevant decision-maker, or refer the matter to full council if they believe it is of “exceptional significance”.
