Daily roundup 20 December: Troubled families, Prince Harry, and 'Britain's oldest convict'

Claims that the government's flagship Troubled Families programme had turned around the lives of 99 per cent of England's most troubled families were misleading, MPs have said. The Guardian reports the public accounts committee also said that the government overstated the financial benefits of the scheme when it claimed it saved taxpayers £1.2bn. ?


Young people need to "lift up their heads" from their mobiles and tablets to improve their mental health, Prince Harry has suggested. The Telegraph reports the Prince saying people no longer talk to each other about their problems and instead spend their time on social media, which is stopping them from sharing their own and other people's difficulties. ?


A 101-year-old man from Birmingham has been jailed for 13 years for committing 30 child sex offences. The BBC reports that Ralph Clarke, of Erdington, is thought to be the oldest person convicted in British legal history. He was found guilty of 21 counts of abusing two girls and admitted nine charges relating to a boy. ?


A 17-year-old at Cookham Wood Young Offenders Institution in Kent has been locked up for a further four months. Kent Online reports the additional time comes after the teenager threw a kettle of hot water over an officer.


Members of the Scottish Parliament have announced their intention to take evidence on the issue of child protection in sport. The move by the Scottish health and sport committee follows recent allegations of historical child sexual abuse in football. ?


A free and up-to-date guide on changes to early years funding and delivery has been launched by the Pre-school Learning Alliance. The guide - an update on the organisation's September publication - provides details on changes to the early years funding system as well as general principles around the delivery of the free entitlement offer.