Daily roundup 9 November: Police custody, counter-terrorism, and mental health

Children are being held for too long in police custody once they are charged with an offence, the prison watchdog has warned. The Independent reports that HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found that too many children in north and north-east London were being kept in cells overnight and even at weekends, despite a statutory duty for authorities to provide them with alternative accommodation.


More than 2,000 children and teenagers were referred to the government's counter-terrorism programme in 2015/16 - including more than 500 girls. The Telegraph reports that the first detailed Home Office figures revealed that nearly a third of all those referred to the Prevent scheme were under the age of 15, and more than half under the age of 20.


A Cumbrian charity has written to the children's commissioner for England to warn that parents have lost faith in the county's child and adolescent mental health service. The News & Star reports that bosses at Self Harm Awareness for All Cumbria, which provides mental health expertise for under-18s, made the claim about CAMHS in a lengthy letter to Anne Longfield.


The NSPCC has been handed £270,000 towards an initiative in London tackling child sexual exploitation (CSE). Over the course of six months the charity's Protect and Respect service will provide help and support for young people aged 11 to 19 in the Croydon and East London areas who have been, or are at risk of being, sexually exploited. The money has been awarded by the City Bridge Trust.