Daily roundup 21 January: Cameron warning, transgender uniform, and deradicalisation

Prime Minister David Cameron has called for the local authority covering his parliamentary constituency to become "more efficient" and look again at planned cuts to children's centres. The BBC reports that his call follows a previous letter to the council last year stating he was "disappointed" at Oxfordshire County Council's proposed cuts.


A college in Brighton has announced it will alter its uniform code to accommodate transgender students. The Guardian reports that the college will allow all pupils to wear a blazer, tie and trousers, or skirt and jacket.


More than 400 children aged 10 or under have been referred to a government deradicalisation programme in the past four years. The BBC reports that 415 children up to the age of 10, as well as 1,424 children aged 11 to 15, were referred to the Channel initiative.


More than two children in Lancashire are identified as being at risk of abduction or sexual exploitation every week, according to figures released by Lancashire Police. The Blackpool Gazette reports that 140 child abduction notices where issued to adults believed to be forming inappropriate relationships with children between March 2014 and April 2015.


West Mercia Police are still not dealing with children who are victims of crime or abuse effectively enough, a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary has said. The Shropshire Star reports that inspectors found “significant delays” in examining electronic devices are undermining child sex investigations, but praised the force for making improvements in some areas since an original review in November 2014.


Caseloads at Reading Council's children’s services department have “reduced considerably” but have not reached best practice levels yet, the local authority's lead member for children’s services has said. Get Reading reports that Jan Gavin said the access and assessment service are temporarily averaging 30 children per worker while the locality team’s average is currently 24 children.