Daily roundup 17 February: Youth offending, policing and apprenticeships

A briefing document showcasing innovative practice in how police and crime commissioners (PCCs) can help improve work with young adult offenders has been published by the Revolving Doors Agency and Transition to Adulthood Alliance. The document outlines emerging good practice work being done by PCCs in Leicestershire, Gloucestershire and South Wales in trying to reduce crime among 18- to 24-year-olds. It also recommends how other areas can develop their own work with this vulnerable group. To read more, see the latest edition of CYP Now or click here.


Home Secretary, Theresa May will warn police officers today that there will be changes to the law unless stop and searches are used appropriately. The warning comes after figures show only one in 10 searches ended in an arrest, the Daily Mail reports. May is set to make the announcement at this year’s Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust Criminal Justice Lecture.


Under a Labour government all large companies that employ non-EU workers or bid on government contracts will be required to offer apprenticeships, party leader Ed Miliband has said. The Telegraph reports Miliband said all school leavers that gain good grades would also have the option of starting an apprenticeship, with 80,000 more on offer to leavers by 2020 because of the requirement.


The former leader of Rotherham Council is to break his silence on his handling of the child sexual exploitation scandal to hit the town. According to the Star, Roger Stone has agreed to answer questions by MPs on the Department for Local Government and Communities select committee, after refusing to take part in a previous inquiry. The Labour politician, who led Rotherham Council from 2003 before stepping down after the scandal broke, was criticised in a report by troubled families tsar Louise Casey.


Campaigners have raised concerns over children as young as 13 being given condoms on the NHS. According to the Daily Mail, young people can sign up to the C-Card scheme without getting medical advice because it can be obtained from advisers in schools, libraries, pharmacies and health centres. Officials have claimed it helps unwanted sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancies but campaigners are worried young people could start believing underage sex is normal.


And finally, Barnardo's has admitted paying celebrity Binky Felstead £3,000 to take part in a campaign to get more people to shop in its 500-plus stores. Both Felstead, a star of reality TV show Made in Chelsea, and Barnardo's denied reports that she was paid £20,000, reports the Express. Describing it as a "business decision", Barnardo's wrote on its Twitter page: "Our retail trading arm operates in commercial environment & is paying £3k for campaign."