The Director of Children’s Services has decided to agree to the extension of a contract for a period of one year from 1st April 2025 – 31st March 2026 for Child Exploitation Support and Missing from Home Services delivered by Catch 22 commissioned jointly on behalf of The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside, Wirral Council, Knowsley Council, St Helen’s Council, and Liverpool City Council at a cost to Wirral Borough Council of £120,498.

The initial 3-year contract term is due to end on 31st March 2025.

As this contract is commissioned by the Office of Police and Crime Commissioner it aims to provide a coordinated response to young people exploited for sexual or criminal purposes, combined with a missing from home service for children and young people.

The combination of the contracted services allows for cooperation between the commissioning partners and the selected service provider and provides consistent support to young people across the Merseyside region.

The Provider has been successfully delivering the contract for the past 3 years. The uplift in the contract price of £15,498 for Wirral Borough Council is reasonable given that the service has been running at the same value since initial award whilst delivery costs have risen in line and above inflation.

Section 13 of the Children Act 2004 requires local authorities and other named statutory partners to make arrangements to ensure that their functions are discharged with a view to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. This includes planning to prevent children from going missing and to protect them when they do.

Statutory guidance states that Local Authorities are responsible for protecting children whether they go missing from their family home or from local authority care.

In fulfilling their statutory roles Local Safeguarding Children’s Boards should give due consideration to the safeguarding risks and associated risks with children missing from home or care.

There are particular concerns about the links between children running away and the risks of sexual exploitation. Missing children may also be vulnerable to other forms of exploitation, to violent crime, gang exploitation, or to drug and alcohol misuse.

Runaway and Missing from Home and Care Protocol (RMFHC) Local Authorities should agree with Police and other partners a protocol for dealing with children who run away or go missing in their area. RMFHC protocols agreed on a regional or sub-regional basis support a consistent approach.

Not to provide the funds for the contract extension, however there is a statutory requirement to protect children, so this was discounted given that there are extension options under the existing contract and it is an effective service.