Daily roundup 18 November: Early intervention, cryonics and military families

The cost of picking up the pieces from damaging social problems affecting children, young people and families remains almost £17bn a year, research has shown. The analysis by the Early Intervention Foundation said the headline figures, which is equivalent to £287 per person in England and Wales, remains stubbornly around the level found last year, although cost breakdown has changed.


A 14-year-old girl who wanted her body to be preserved, in case she could be cured in the future, won a historic legal fight shortly before her death. The BBC reports that the girl, who was terminally ill with a rare cancer, was supported by her mother in her wish to be cryogenically preserved - but not by her father. She wrote to the judge explaining that she wanted "to live longer" and did not want "to be buried underground".


A county council is to step up its support for the children of military families in the county's schools. North Yorkshire County Council said it already supports nearly 3,000 service pupils and the move comes as a high degree of troop mobility is due to take place through 2017 as armed forces personnel return due to a drawdown from Germany.


The Children's Commissioner for Northern Ireland has warned there is little evidence that children in the country are better protected from sexual exploitation two years after an expert inquiry made recommendations. The Belfast Telegraph reports that Children's Commissioner Koulla Yiasouma said there was "no concrete evidence" that professionals were working better together to address the problem following a raft of recommendations in the Marshall Inquiry, which reported in 2014.


The Scottish government is considering enshrining a right to access food in Scottish Law, it has confirmed. The BBC reports the Independent Working Group on Food Poverty, which has made the recommendation, said the change to the legal system would "not in itself end food insecurity". However, it would mean the government and other public bodies have "a duty to ensure everyone has secure access to adequate and affordable food".