Daily roundup 28 September: Child abuse, mental health and Free school meals

Child sex crime in Sheffield has increased by 600 per cent in the past two years, The Rotherham Star reports. Data obtained as part of the paper's Your Right to Know campaign, found offences of sexual activity with a child under 13 rose significantly from 2012/13 and 2014/15, while during the same period sex abuse of under-16s rose by 400 per cent.


Dozens of children in Croydon with complex mental health issues have been waiting more than 16 months to receive treatment and support, it has emerged. The Croydon Advertiser reports a joint report by Croydon Council, Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, said the waiting times are “unacceptable”.


Universal free school meals for infant pupils must be protected and not sacrificed in any cuts announced in the government's Spending Review, leading doctors have said. The Times reports that a letter sent to it from doctors and nutritionists warns children’s health could be harmed if the meals for children aged four to seven are scrapped.


A government consultation to help shape the implementation of 30 hours free childcare has engaged with 17,000 parents, it has emerged. Writing on Twitter, childcare minister Sam Gyimah said more than 2,000 providers have also taken part in the consultation.


Women with learning disabilities may find themselves in abusive relationships because of difficult family backgrounds such as witnessing domestic abuse or experiencing abuse as children, according to research by NIHR School of Social Research. It suggested a lack of positive role models of healthy safe relationships alongside childhood home environment makes some women more vulnerable to domestic violence.


A majority of secondary school students in Scotland have been exposed to e-cigarette marketing, according to new research. Commissioned by the Scottish government, the research aims to inform the forthcoming Health Bill, which proposes a ban on the sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s, a restriction on marketing and “proxy purchases” by adults for minors.