Written question asked by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Wednesday, 11 May 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 13 May 2011. It was answered by James Brokenshire (Conservative) on Tuesday, 17 May 2011 on behalf of the Home Office.

Missing Persons

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what responsibility the proposed National Crime Agency will have for missing persons.

Answer: On 10 May the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), announced that the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) will operate as part of the new National Crime Agency (NCA) and it has previously been agreed that this role will include responsibility for missing children services. This move will ensure that CEOP will be better positioned than ever before to tackle child sexual exploitation, tackle those who seek to harm children, and develop its vital work educating children and their carers on how to protect themselves.Work is continuing to arrange the transfer of responsibility for missing children's services from the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) to CEOP. In turn, work is progressing to consider where responsibilities for missing adults services should sit in the future.

Secondary information