Children left vulnerable to gangs, says Senedd report
The Children, Young People and Education Committee lists a number of missed opportunities to stop organised crime groups taking advantage of children
Last updated 5th Dec 2024
A Senedd report has found that children across Wales are being left vulnerable to exploitation by gangs.
The Children, Young People and Education Committee lists a number of missed opportunities to stop organised crime groups taking advantage of children.
The committee say they heard from young people from across the country who had been criminally exploited.
These people then shared their experiences of inconsistent support in schools, and broken promises from overworked professionals.
The Children on the Margins report makes 23 recommendations that can begin to fix these problems immediately.
Buffy Williams MS, Chair of the Children, Young People and Education Committee says:
“This report can be read as a story of missed opportunities. Our inquiry heard evidence of missed opportunities to identify at risk children and support them, missed opportunities to respond when things escalate, and missed opportunities to take action at critical moments.
“When those opportunities are missed, children can be subject to abhorrent criminal exploitation and abuse. It will fundamentally shape their lives and the lives of their friends and families.
“Some children will not survive the exploitation and abuse they experience.
“We believe that the recommendations in this report, if accepted and implemented by this and future Welsh Governments, will make a real and tangible difference to the lives of our most vulnerable children.”
Missed opportunities in schools says committee:
'Children who were excluded or refused to go to school was raised in evidence more than any other single risk factor for exploitation.
The Committee heard evidence that very few children who have been exploited were regularly attending school, while Action for Children wrote that over 90% of the children referred to their services in Wales have faced exclusion from education.
The five young contributors with experience of being criminally exploited said being excluded from school was the thing they were most angered by.'
One anonymous participant said:
“I hated school, teachers hated me and my mum didn’t know what to do or how to look after me. I was put on a reduced timetable, so I was out on the street when all the other kids were in school.
“That’s how they gangs spot the vulnerable ones. These kids are out there because the school’s given up on them, their parents don’t want them around, and they’re just desperate for someone to care. I would have been safer if I’d stayed in school.”
The Committee notes the challenge that schools face in trying to keep the most vulnerable children in school.
Members said they do not underestimate how hard it is for schools to evaluate the needs of the individual child alongside those of the wider school community.
They now call for the Welsh Government to do more to help schools balance the risks of exclusion and keep vulnerable children attending, with training, clear guidance and examples.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We thank the Committee for their report and the insights from those with lived experience. No child or young person should be subjected to exploitation and abuse. We will continue to work closely with the UK Government and other partners on these issues, and will respond to the Committee in due course.”