City Earns Praise For Care Of Runaway Children

Glasgow is leading the way in the care of runaway children. A new report shows most other local authorities across Scotland are failing to provide support services for some of the country’s most vulnerable youngsters.

The study shows that, despite detailed guidance from the Scottish Executive, the majority of councils have little or no dedicated support services. But Glasgow and East Renfrewshire were among only three out of 32 local authorities which were able to give details of services in place, including emergency refuge accommodation for youngsters who run away from home.

Glasgow is home to Scotland’s only refuge for runaway children. It has three beds and is run by the Aberlour charity. The city also runs a number of outreach services, including work in schools.

The report was carried out on behalf of the Scottish Executive by The Scottish Coalition of Young Runaways, which is led by Aberlour. It is made up of representatives from charity Barnardos, Childline and the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland. The research also showed there is no national system in place for recording the number of runaway children.

Bryan Evans, of Aberlour, who is also chairman of the coalition, said: “Young runaways are a particularly vulnerable group of young people both because of the situations they are running from and because of the risks they face when they flee.

“It is extremely disappointing that across the country we have not made significant progress since 2003 when the Executive issued guidance on young runaways. We have experience from working in and around Glasgow, that refuge and community support are important factors in supporting young people, but we need to see similar services and arrangements across the whole of Scotland.”

Each year around 10,000 Scots youngsters under the age of 16 run away from home. One in six will be sexually or physically abused while on the run and a staggering 68% are not reported missing to the police.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “We work very closely with the Aberlour Trust and we are very supportive of the two projects it runs in Glasgow. We aim to create more services which identify, as early as possible, children who may be at risk.”

The findings of the study will be used to shape future policy on improving support for runaway children. The Scottish Executive has set up a working group to help devise a national strategy.