Daily roundup 9 November: Railways, mental health, and funding cuts

Railway staff will be given training on how to spot vulnerable children as part of an initiative launched by charity Railway Children. The Guardian reports that the programme follows research by British Transport Police which recorded incidents involving 6,000 vulnerable children in train stations last year.


Local authorities in England are spending on average just one per cent of their public health budgets on tackling mental health problems, the charity Mind has calculated. The Guardian reports that the charity said the “negligible” amount undermined government commitments to put mental health issues on a par with those relating to physical health.


The Department for Communities and Local Government has agreed to cut its spending by an average of 30 per cent over the next four years. The BBC reports that the department, which funds local authorities, is one of four to provisionally agree budgets with Chancellor George Osborne ahead of the Spending Review on 25 November.


A 15-year-old boy who was arrested in connection with the recent TalkTalk cyber-attack is suing three national newspapers for alleged breach of privacy. The Independent reports that the boy's lawyers have also opened legal proceedings against Google and Twitter, claiming negligence, misuse of private information, defamation, breach of confidence and data protection.


The mother of murdered soldier Lee Rigby has vowed to help tackle radicalisation by visiting schools to work with impressionable young people. The Evening Standard reports that Lyn Rigby wants the Lee Rigby Foundation to become an "astounding legacy" to her son.


Monmouthshire County Council's children's services have been found to be "weak" in certain areas, including safeguarding, according to the Wales Audit Office's annual report. The South Wales Argus reports that education services for children and young people remain in special measures, which were put in place in 2012.