Daily roundup 21 August: Apprenticeships, £800-a-day DCS, and tooth decay

Prime Minister David Cameron has unveiled plans to introduce an apprenticeship levy on businesses and take a firm's apprenticeship offer into account when awarding large government contracts. The government says businesses will get to have a say on how the proposed levy, due to be introduced in 2017, will work.


Dudley's temporary head of children's services is being paid at a rate of £800-a-day. The Express and Star reports that the council made the temporary appointment after two recruitment processes failed to find a suitable candidate.


Tooth decay is the leading cause of hospital admissions for young children, research has found. The Daily Mail reports that 500 children aged five to nine are admitted to hospital every week with tooth problems.  


Eight-year-old children have achieved a faster “wage” growth than their parents, a 20-year survey by Halifax bank has found. The Telegraph reports parents are now spending £6.20 on weekly allowances compared with £1.13 a week in the late 1980s, but the figure is lower than in 2005 when children received £8.37 a week.


A two-year target has been set by Sandwell Council to turn around its heavily criticised children’s services department. The Express & Star reports that bosses have set out a plan to improve standards following two damning Ofsted reports in the last three years, which found "widespread and serious failures".


The number of looked-after children in Northern Ireland has hit a 20-year high, the Human Rights Commission has said. The Belfast Telegraph reports the watchdog highlighted delays in the adoption process and warned children were being moved too quickly because of financial pressures in the health service.