Daily roundup 21 December: Fruit safety, child poverty, and historic sex abuse

??Safety warnings about choking hazards for young children should be attached to the packaging of grapes and cherry tomatoes, doctors have said. The Telegraph reports that a study published today warns that food accounts for more than half of episodes of fatal choking among under-fives. Writing in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, doctors have called for clear labeling of foods known to be choking risks.


Downing Street has said that its decision to abolish the civil service's child poverty unit does not mean it no longer takes the issue seriously. The Guardian reports that Prime Minister Theresa May's spokeswoman said the government remained committed to tackling poverty and would publish a social justice paper in the new year.


Police in the UK are investigating more than 3,400 suspects over historical child sex abuse, it has emerged. The BBC reports that latest police statistics show the figure has more than doubled between May 2015 and December 2016. ?


The Scottish government has awarded £3.28m to charities supporting looked-after children and vulnerable families to help prevent children being taken into care. In total, 27 organisations have received awards from the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund in 2017/18.


A consultation has been launched in Wales to look at a new law that could change the arrangements and services available for children with additional learning needs. The Welsh National Assembly's children, young people and education committee is considering the Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal Bill at the first stage of the Assembly's law making process.