Daily roundup 24 February: Child poverty, harmful sexual behaviour, and pregnancy

MPs have voted to reject a House of Lords amendment that would have seen relative income retained as a measure of child poverty. The Huffington Post reports that the income measure will be replaced with a duty to report levels of educational attainment, worklessness and addiction.


New draft guidelines to improve recognition and support for children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviour have been published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). The guidance calls for children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviour to receive early assessment and for support to be tailored to each situation.


Pregnant women are to be offered their own personal budget, worth at least £3,000, as part of a pilot scheme by the NHS in England. The BBC reports that the move will allow women to choose the care they receive, which could range from one-to-one midwifery care to home births.


Services for vulnerable children in Plymouth have improved a year on from a critical Ofsted report in January 2015. The Plymouth Herald reports that councillor Sue McDonald said social workers now have a significantly reduced caseload and can spend more time with clients.


Children’s services chiefs in Buckingham say they are working hard to tackle a "culture of blame" which was highlighted in a recent peer review. Buckingham Today reports that cabinet member Lin Hazell said they have resolved most of the problems that were identified.


Six children’s charities in Wales have called on the next Welsh government to include a children’s minister in its cabinet. The call by NSPCC Cymru, Action for Children, Save the Children, Children in Wales, Barnardo’s Cymru and Tros Gynnal Plant, forms part of its joint manifesto, which is to launch at an event in the Senedd today.


Welsh political parties should get behind lowering the voting age to 16 in the run up to May’s election, the Electoral Reform Society Cymru has said. The call comes in its first manifesto in the lead up to the assembly elections with two more manifestos due to be released in March and April.