Daily roundup 5 December: Mental health, online streaming, and domestic violence

A government commitment to spend an extra £300m over the next three years on improving mental health support for school pupils has been dismissed as inadequate by Labour. The Guardian reports that Jon Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, said the Conservatives are "failing to deliver parity of esteem" between mental and physical health, as promised, and that their proposals did not amount to "meaningful action". Labour said it is committed to ringfencing funding for child and adolescent mental health services.


Sex offenders are increasingly using live online streaming platforms to exploit children, police have warned. The BBC reports that the National Crime Agency said children need to be educated on the risks associated with streaming sites. It said offenders were learning how young people communicated online and "using this knowledge to abuse them".


Time limits preventing victims of domestic violence from obtaining legal aid for court hearings will be scrapped from January, the Ministry of Justice has announced. The Guardian reports that the restrictions, which have resulted in large numbers of women confronting abusive ex-partners without representation, will also be relaxed to accept evidence from victim support organisations.


Children's charity Barnardo's has called for urgent government action to protect early years services. the charity said Department for Education figures show that children's centres have had funding cut from £1.2bn to an estimated £0.6bn over the last six years. It is calling on government to help local authorities find new ways of providing a range of essential early intervention and family support services.