MPs LAUNCHED a parliamentary inquiry today into the record number of children in care who went missing after being “farmed out” to live in homes miles away from family and friends.

The all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for runaway and missing children and adults which will carry out the inquiry, is concerned that the “sent-away generation” is in danger of being abused and exploited by paedophiles and drug gangs. 

Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of all children placed in homes were sent by local authorities to live outside their boroughs, according to the latest figures from the Department for Education (DfE).

Almost 4,000 children were sent to live in out-of-area children’s homes last year compared to 2,250 in 2012.

The number of children in out-of-area placements who have gone missing has more than doubled from 990 in 2015 to 1,990 last year, the DfE estimates.

This compares to a 31 per cent increase in the number of children who had gone missing from care homes within their own boroughs.

Evidence suggests that the isolation that children experience from being sent a long way from family, friends and social workers is often a factor that causes them to run away.

Chairwoman of the APPG and the inquiry Ann Coffey has written to all 43 police chief constables asking them about any links they have found between out-of-area placements and children targeted for sexual and criminal exploitation, including county lines drug traffickers.

Sam Royston, director and policy and research at The Children’s Society, said: “Children should only be placed away from their home area if it is in their best interests, but too often this is happening simply because local placements are unavailable.”

As of March last year 81 per cent of children’s homes were run for profit by private firms, and the rest by local authorities.