Daily roundup 26 August: Passports, child abuse arrests, and Kids Company

Guidance on how passports of children believed to be at risk of radicalisation can be cancelled has been published by government. Her Majesty's Passport Service said the scheme is to be used where there’s concern that a child under 16 years old is travelling, or plans to travel, for extremist purposes or the parent considers that the child may be susceptible to radicalisation if they travel.


A total of 446 people have been arrested by South Yorkshire Police on suspicion of child sexual offences in the 12 months since the Jay Report. The Rotherham Star reports chief superintendent Jason Harwin, district commander for Rotherham, believes the figures are evidence police are making progress in tackling child sexual exploitation.  


Defunct charity Kids Company warned MPs there was a “high risk of arson attacks on government buildings” should the charity close suddenly, it has been claimed. The Mirror reports a leaked email reportedly sent to the Cabinet Office by the charity’s chairman of trustees Alan Yentob has been obtained by Buzzfeed News and BBC Newsnight.


NHS Scotland is failing to meet targets for how long it takes young people to receive help with mental health problems. The Scottish Children's Services Coalition reports that more than half of health board figures fail to meet waiting time targets for children's mental health treatment set out by the Scottish government.


Twenty per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals in Northern Ireland did not access them last year. The Belfast Telegraph reports that education minister John O'Dowd urged eligible families to take up the offer because it improves a child's concentration, behaviour and ability to learn.


Rupert Hughes, key architect of the 1989 Children Act, has died aged 80. The Guardian reports that the senior civil servant steered the act through parliament with cross-party support when Margaret Thatcher was in power.