Daily roundup 28 June: Jedi training, disabled children's health, and knife detection

Children will be encouraged to "train like a Jedi" as part of a new fitness campaign launched by Public Health England (PHE). The new Change4Life Train Like a Jedi programme uses Star Wars and its characters to encourage children to increase levels of physical activity. A survey by PHE and Disney found that 82 per cent of children would be inspired to move more if they saw their favourite characters being active.


Parent-carers' confidence in the quality of disabled children's health and social care services is at an all-time low, a study by the Disabled Children's Partnership has found. A survey by the organisation found that the vast majority (75 per cent) of 1,500 of parent carers questioned said that the quality of health services to support their children had grown significantly worse in the past few years.


The government is looking to explore new ways of identifying or detecting people carrying knives in open spaces. The Home Office said it wants to hear about potential ways of spotting people in possession of a knife from specific technologies, through to advances in behavioural sciences.


England's mainly Conservative-run county councils have warned ministers that the "worst is yet come" over cuts to services and that several authorities risk going bust unless steps are taken to shore up budgets. The Guardian reports that the County Councils Network said that only an emergency injection of funds next year to counter a growing financial "black hole" would head off severe cuts to services and potential unrest among MPs.


A consultation has been launched into the closure of two children's centres in the Lancaster area. The Lancaster Guardian reports that Lancashire County Council is proposing to reduce the number of buildings used to deliver its children and family wellbeing service "to work within the community in a more flexible way". The budget for the service has reduced by £1.2m following a cabinet decision in January 2018.


A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder and violent disorder following the death of a man in north London. The BBC reports that police were called to Cavendish Road, Edmonton, at about 6.30pm on Wednesday to reports of a fight between men armed with baseball bats. A 20-year-old man was found with stab wounds and later pronounced dead.