Daily roundup: Junk food advertising, police youth ambassador salary and Universal Credit trial

Food companies are sidestepping TV ad bans designed to protect children through internet marketing, it has been claimed. The Guardian reports that the Children’s Food Campaign has called on the government to close loopholes allowing ads that are banned from children's television to be shown on manufacturers' own child-friendly websites. It wants limits on the use of online games by the likes of Haribo, Cadbury, and Oreo, pointing to evidence suggesting promotional games can subconsciously affect behaviour.

A police and crime commissioner is offering a salary of more than £25,000 for a youth ambassador. The Telegraph reports that Cheshire police and crime commissioner John Dwyer has advertised the role. The level of salary, which is £10,000 more than that offered to Paris Brown in Kent before she decided to turn down the role, has been criticised.

The government’s new Universal Credit welfare system has begun today as part of a small scale trial. The BBC reports that the new system, which merges several benefits and tax credits into one monthly payment is beginning with a small number of new claimants in Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester. Concerns have previously been raised that families with children could be worse off under the changes.

Police must primarily focus on preventing crime rather than catching criminals, the chief inspector of constabulary for England and Wales has said. Tom Winsor told the BBC that massive financial savings can be made through crime prevention." All the costs of the criminal justice system – and they are considerable – are incurred downstream of an offence being committed," he said. “The biggest bang for the public's buck is on crime prevention. "Prevention is far better than cure. If we can prevent offences taking place and we prevent there being any victims, which is absolutely critical... we save all of those costs."

The Royal London Society for Blind People (RLSB) has launched a youth forum to ensure that the opinions of blind and partially sighted young people are better represented. The RLSB wants young people to have more of a say within its own organisation and wider society. The group will be made up of 10 visually impaired young people aged 16 to 25 who will meet on a monthly basis to discuss issues that are most important to them. Meanwhile, children’s disability charity Newlife Foundation has teamed up with the UK Youth Parliament to offer young people more opportunities to have their voices heard.