Daily roundup 6 January: Abuse compensation, inspections, and tuition fees

Rotherham Council is preparing for a bill of millions of pounds for compensation payouts to child sexual exploitation victims in the town, it has been revealed. The Rotherham Star reports that a total of 34 women are suing Rotherham Council and South Yorkshire Police over failures that allowed them to be abused – with the victims estimated to be in line for average payouts of about £100,000 each.


Services for vulnerable children and young people in Plymouth have been rated as "requiring improvement" by Ofsted inspectors who say overloaded social workers are facing an “unprecedented demand”. The Plymouth Herald reports that high caseloads are restricting social workers’ ability to fully assess children’s needs, and too many youngsters leaving care are not given enough support.


Labour leader Ed Miliband has vowed to reduce university tuition fees, reports the Times. It said the party is likely to cap fees at £6,000 a year, in an attempt to make it more attractive to young voters. Recent data has suggested that the present system – that caps fees at £9,000 - may cost the government billions of pounds as a result of having to write off student loans that are never repaid.


The education budget could be cut by a future Conservative government, a document suggests. A briefing paper held by senior Conservative William Hague at a press conference explains how to “dodge” questions about whether the education budget will be cut after the general election, reports the Telegraph. The document – which includes how to respond to questions about future cuts to school budgets - was photographed at the conference.


Stockport MP Ann Coffey has called on ministers to drop the phrase "child prostitution", describing it as “shameful” and out-dated. The Labour MP said there was "no such thing" as a child prostitute, only a sexually abused or exploited child, reports the Manchester Evening News. Coffey wants all references to "child prostitution" removed from all legislation.


Scottish Labour has warned wealthy families rather than poorer ones will benefit most from free school meals. Its spokesman Iain Gray warned that the introduction this week of the policy for all infant-aged children in Scotland will lead to cuts to other council services. But Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, took to Twitter to defend the policy, saying it is “backed by all the anti-child poverty charities”, reports The Telegraph.