Daily roundup 14 April: Unaccompanied children, child abduction, and broken pledges

Councils should share responsibility for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children under a national agreement, Kent County Council has told a Lords committee. The BBC reports that the local authority argues that such a scheme would prevent putting a "burden" on one particular authority.


Two teenage girls have been arrested on suspicion of abducting a three-year-old girl from a Primark store in Newcastle. The Guardian reports that the child went missing on Wednesday afternoon, and the girls, aged 13 and 14, were arrested the following morning.


The government must do more to improve the life chances of the most vulnerable, a Conservative MP who served as health minister in the coalition government, has said. The Guardian reports that Dan Poulter said it is difficult to justify putting “middle-class tax cuts” before the needs of the poor, adding that there has also been a "chronic underfunding" of mental health services.


Britain is lagging behind some much poorer nations in achieving parity between rich and poor on health and educational outcomes, according to a Unicef report. The Independent reports that the UK ranked 25th out of 37 wealthy countries covered in the report for its equality levels in children’s reading, maths and science skills at age 15.?


??Pressure is growing for the children’s commissioner in Wales to be given the freedom to help children on a wider range of issues. Wales Online reports commissioner Sally Holland wants to be able to assist children on non-devolved issues such as asylum and youth justice, and hopes the next Welsh government will be able to “tidy up” the legislation regarding the role.?


A counselling service for bereaved children in Pembrokeshire will close this summer, despite a campaign being launched to save it. The BBC reports that the Sandy Bear service, which is run by Hywel Dda University Health Board and funded by Pembrokeshire Council, will close in June.?