Daily roundup 10 June: Child abuse, care applications and smoking

A High Court judge has said immigrant parents should be allowed to slap and hit their children when they first arrive in Britain. Mrs Justice Pauffley said officials should make allowances for the "cultural context" of abuse cases before taking action. She was speaking after a custody case where a seven-year-old boy alleged his violent father had slapped him with his belt, reports the Express.


Care applications to the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) rose five per cent last month, latest figures show. In May 2015, Cafcass received 913 care applications compared with 873 in May 2014. Last month's figures are down on the 952 received by Cafcass in April.


The government should impose a new levy on tobacco companies to help pay for the harm they cause, according to 120 public health organisations launching a proposed new strategy against smoking. They hope their proposed five-year strategy document, Smoking Still Kills, will be taken up by government, the Guardian reports. The group says that the tobacco industry should pay an annual levy to assist with the effort of stopping young people picking up the habit and helping others quit.


Birmingham City Council has appointed its first ever Youth Champion. Councillor Kerry Jenkins, who represents the Hall Green ward in the city, will take on responsibility for listening to and engaging with the city’s young people on a wide range of issues, ensuring that their voices are heard. The Youth Champion is the latest role of its kind to be introduced by the council, following the Victims’ Champion, Mental Health Champion and Heritage Champion, reports Birmingham Newsroom.


Coram Children’s Legal Centre (CCLC) is to team up with international law firms Allen & Overy and DLA Piper to offer legal advice and support to asylum-seeking and refugee children. The project will provide quality, free-of-charge legal representation so that children with a right in law to become British citizens can exercise that. The Children’s Pro Bono Legal Service will be led by a solicitor at CCLC, who will supervise volunteer lawyers from the partner firms in undertaking pro bono legal casework.


Schools should discuss political issues in the classroom in order to get more young people to engage with politics, a study has suggested. Research involving 800 students carried out by the University of Edinburgh found that class debate was the greatest factor influencing civic attitudes of 16- and 17-year-olds, above discussions with parents or friends. The survey of students – half in Scotland and half in other parts of the UK – found those north of the border were more politically engaged than those elsewhere in the country, reports the BBC.