Daily roundup 21 November: Music education, age checks, and homelessness

The government will extend for a further three years funding to support 121 music education hubs to work with schools, local authorities and community organisations to get more young people taking part in music and arts. The programme, which was launched in 2012, is already being funded to the tune of £75m in 2016/17, with an additional £225m meaning it can continue until 2019/20.


Websites that show adult content face being blocked to people in the UK if they fail to check users are over 18, under government plans. The BBC reports that Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said children needed to be safe from "harmful pornographic content online". The plans would give the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) powers to block porn sites based in the UK and overseas which did not verify ages.


Up to one in three young people seeking support from their local authority because they are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless are being turned away unaided, research has found. The Independent reports that freedom of information requests sent to Centrepoint from 260 English councils found that just 67 per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds seeking help were recorded as getting some sort of assistance.


The government is facing a "sharp challenge" in the face of Brexit, Chancellor Philip Hammond has warned. The Guardian reports he cautioned against any giveaways in his Autumn Statement for families who are "just about managing" and said he needed "headroom" in the public finances to deal with the economic impact of leaving the European Union. Hammond is due to give his first Autumn Statement on Wednesday.


British children are among the least active in the world, and fitness levels are plummeting, an international study has warned. The Telegraph reports the research, which was produced by a global alliance of health experts, compared 38 countries. Overall, England and Wales received the third worst grade in the rankings, while Scotland was joint worst.