Daily roundup 11 June: Fast food, gaming addiction, and tuition fees

Most children are buying takeaway for their lunch at least once a week, according to a new study from the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF). The Telegraph reports that the research found that 60 percent of 11- to 16-year-olds said they bought food such as chips or fried chicken from takeaways at lunchtime or after school at least once a week. The BNF has warned takeaways are too readily available to children.


A 15-year-old boy is set to be diagnosed with internet gaming addiction in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in the NHS. The Telegraph reports that the teenager from North London has been off school for a year after becoming so addicted to gaming that he has lost confidence to leave his home. The decision represents a potential breakthrough for his mother Miss Kendal Parmar who has battled for three years for help and to have his condition recognised and treated by the NHS.


The tuition fee system for England's universities is ripping off students and giving taxpayers poor value for money, a parliamentary committee has said. The BBC reports that the House of Lords economic affairs committee said it found evidence the student loan book would grow to more than £1 trillion over the next 25 years. The committee attacked a "deeply unfair" system of fees and loans.


Survivors of child sexual abuse have accused the public inquiry into institutional abuse of "squandering public money on ill-advised PR" rather than listening to victims. In a letter to The Times survivors express their disappointment with the progress of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, led by Alexis Jay. They are frustrated by the lack of dialogue with the inquiry and say that the last meeting of its victims and survivors forum, set up by the inquiry to "make it easier for victims to engage with us", was 14 months ago.


Military recruiters have been targeting vulnerable children at special schools, campaigners have claimed. The Mirror reports that armed forces personnel have been to special schools in Scotland at least 16 times in recent years, according to figures from Forces Watch. The activists have hit out at the military, calling visits to special schools "unacceptable" because pupils there are "particularly vulnerable".


A woman has arrived at court charged with the murder of a four-year-old girl in Rhondda Cynon Taff. The BBC reports that Amelia Brooke Harris was pronounced dead at an address in Trealaw on Friday night. Carly Ann Harris, 37, from Trealaw, is due to appear before Merthyr magistrates today charged with her murder.