Daily roundup: Homeless children, Welsh care homes, and nutritional standards in schools

Hundreds of homeless children in the UK have no nationality or legal status because they are not officially registered with the authorities, BBC research has revealed. Many are driven to crime and prostitution to raise money for food, according to a programme to be aired tonight on BBC One. Coram Children's Legal Centre and Peckham project Safe 'n' Sound have called for greater awareness of the problem. Safe 'n' Sound said more than 600 young people in this situation have contacted its services. The BBC said many of London's “stateless youths” came to the UK legally, but were never officially registered.

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales has called for a new inquiry into abuse in Welsh children's homes after a senior Conservative politician was implicated in child abuse claims, the Guardian reports. The Waterhouse inquiry held in the 1990’s spent three years examining the issue. But Keith Towler said he would back a new investigation following a BBC Newsnight interview with a victim of the abuse that took place more than 40 years ago. Steven Messham, one of hundreds who were abused, claimed the terms of reference of the Waterhouse inquiry meant he was unable to discuss abuse that occurred outside of the care system at the time, including claims that he was sexually assaulted by a former senior Conservative political figure.