Daily roundup: Benefits cap, female genital mutilation, and smoking in cars

Latest statistics show that 96 per cent of households affected by the benefits cap have children. The government figures show that between the introduction of the £500-a-week cap on 15 April 2013 and December 2013, 36,400 households had their housing benefit capped. A total of 60 per cent of households affected had between one and four children and 36 per cent had five or more children.

The government has published a declaration committing itself to ending female genital mutilation in the UK and abroad. Among other things, the declaration, which has been signed by ministers from across government, states that “political or cultural sensitivities must not get in the way of uncovering and stopping this terrible form of abuse”.

Around 700 doctors, nurses and other health experts have called on the government to ban smoking in cars carrying children ahead of a vote in parliament on the matter on Monday. The Telegraph reports that the experts wrote a letter to the British Medical Journal, highlighting that second-hand smoke was a “major cause of ill health in children”.

Meanwhile Office for National Statistics data shows that the number of homes occupied by two or more families grew by 70 per cent between 2001 and 2011. The Guardian reports that analysis of data from the 2011 census showed there were 289,000 "concealed families" in England and Wales – couples and families who share a property with the main householders – compared with 170,000 in 2001.

Disadvantaged families are being hardest hit following legal aid changes, a report has claimed. A report by Relate found there has been a dramatic drop in the number of separating couples accessing the charity’s mediation services in April to September 2013, compared with the same period in 2012. The charity found that legal aid-funded mediation information and assessment meetings were down 52 per cent and the number of couples starting legal aid-funded mediation fell by 35 per cent.

A nursery previously rated as good by Ofsted is putting children’s safety at risk, inspectors have found. The Epping Forest Guardian reports that Hainault Forest Community Nursery, in Chigwell, has been rated inadequate due to weak leadership and management and a failure to understand legal requirements. The nursery was previously rated good across all categories in its last inspection in 2009.