Children’s centres at risk of being closed by Bradford Metropolitan District Council as a result of funding cuts will stay open for another year thanks to a cash injection of £3m. According to the Keighley News, Bradford’s Schools Forum has offered the council £3m to give the centres time to draw up a long-term solution to their funding problems.
Numbers of young British people applying to go to university has risen to its highest ever level. The Guardian reports that Ucas has seen a four per cent increase in the number of applicants to UK universities, despite a small decline in the number of 18-year-olds in the population overall.
New data reveals that children as young as five are seeking hospital treatment for eating disorders. The Metro reports that statistics from the Health and Social Care Information Centre show that six children under the age of five were admitted to hospital for treatment for eating disorders last year, while a further 32 under ten also received treatment.
Gangs from London are increasingly expanding their criminal activities to towns and cities across the UK, the Metropolitan Police has warned. The BBC reports that 54 gangs from the capital now have "tentacles" in other areas, selling drugs and causing violence on a larger scale.
Shropshire Council proposes cutting its children's services budget by £12.5m as part of a three-year plan to save £80m across the authority. The reductions would see £7.2m cut across children and young people’s services next year. Further savings of £3.5 million in 2015/16 and £1.8 million in 2016/17 are also planned by the council, the Shropshire Star reports.
Half of 12- to 16-year-olds surveyed by YouGov think their parents are most responsible for Britain’s childhood obesity problem, while a quarter blame themselves. The survey of 767 children and young people aged 12- to 16-years-old for the British Heart Foundation, also found that more than 10 per cent of children were unable to do even basic cooking such as scrambling an egg. Figures show that 31 per cent of boys and 29 per cent of girls in England are overweight or obese.
