Daily roundup 16 March: Online grooming, teenage life, and youth service cuts

A law passed by parliament more than a year ago in order to help police tackle online grooming of children is yet to be enacted. The Independent reports that the NSPCC said it is “astonishing” that Section 67 of the 2015 Serious Crime Act – which would prohibit adults from knowingly communicating in a sexual manner with children under the age of 16 – is yet to be enacted by the Ministry of Justice.


The number of children who smoke or drink alcohol has fallen over the past five years, according to a Europe-wide survey. The Daily Mail reports that research by the World Health Organisation found the proportion of 15-year-olds drinking and smoking fell “significantly” while those reporting having sex also declined.?


Enfield Council is being pressured by former youth service users and staff to consult over its plans to close some of its youth services. The Enfield Independent reports that the council needs to save £1.7m, and plans to cut after school clubs, life skills courses and careers advice.


A Cardiff council worker who stole £35,000 from a child protection fund has been jailed for two years. The Daily Mail reports that Caroline Wootton-Thomas forged colleagues' signatures on cheques and stole from the council's child protection unit petty cash fund, using the money to pay off debts and go on holidays.


Children are unable to fight off common infections because antibiotics are unable to kill the bacteria involved, academics from Bristol University and Imperial College London have found. The Guardian reports that certain antibiotics do not work in about half of cases and blame GPs for prescribing antibiotics to children too often.


Nottingham Trent University is to launch a dedicated centre aimed at addressing the inequalities in health and life chances affecting children, young people and families. The Nottingham Centre for Children, Young People and Families will launch on 18 March and bring together more than 80 researchers from the university as well as organisations in Nottingham.


A state-of-the-art youth centre has beaten its yearly membership target despite being open for just six weeks. Run by youth charity OnSide, The Way Youth Zone in Wolverhampton opened in mid-January and has already attracted 3,000 members.