Daily roundup: 'Severe hardship' for Scottish families, parenting, and child benefit cuts

As many as 24,000 families in Scotland are facing “severe hardship” according to a report by the think-tank Demos. The study looked at seven disadvantages, including low-income, worklessness and ill-health, with families facing four or more considered to be “severely disadvantaged”. The worst affected area was Glasgow, with more then one in 10 families facing severe disadvantage. Report author Louise Bazalgette said the study highlights the struggle thousands of families are facing. She said: “The extent of severe disadvantage in some areas of Scotland shows the scale of the challenge for some local authorities, who need to find effective ways to work with families facing a complex set of problems at a time of dwindling public resources.”

Most children wish they could spend more time with their parents, a survey has found. The research, carried out for the Family and Parenting Institute (FPI), found a disparity in the amount of time spent with children in different areas. A total of 74 per cent of children in the South and London wanted to spend more time with their mum or dad, compared to 54 per cent in the North and 45 per cent in the Midlands and East of the country. Around one in ten parents of six- to 10-year-olds said they only manage to give full attention to their child once or twice a week. Katherine Rake, FPI chief executive, said: “Greater flexible working rights are the key to ensuring parents can spend the time with their children that is so central to their healthy development.”

The government has come in for criticism over preparations for its plans to cut child benefit, with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales arguing that it has left it too late to notify families about the changes in time. The Telegraph reports that HM Revenue and Customs is about to send letters to families where one parent earns over £50,000, who will be affected by the cuts. But the institute has warned that most families are unaware of the changes, and face having to complete complicated self-assessment tax returns for the first time.

The number of working families relying on housing benefit has nearly doubled in just three years, a report by the National Housing Federation has found. The report warned that rising rental and housing prices have led to 417,830 more working people being reliant on housing benefit since 2009, an 86 per increase. David Orr, chief executive of the federation, said: “We now have millions of families struggling to keep on top of their rents, priced out of the housing market and nearly 10,000 more working families every month are now reliant on housing benefit to help pay their private rent. These people are the ‘strivers’ the government wants to help, yet their future is looking bleak.”

A think-tank is calling for the powers of police and crime commissioners (PCCs) to be extended, ahead of elections for the posts next month. The study by Reform said PCCs should control not only policing but also prisons, probation, courts, fire and ambulance services. It said giving PCCs more control would lead to greater collaboration between services, affording them greater ability to prevent crime and stop people from reoffending. Andrew Haldenby, the think-tank's director, said: “PCCs could lose the confidence of the public if they cannot address all of the causes of crime in their areas. They are just the right people to turn a disjointed and expensive criminal justice system into a single streamlined service.” PCCs will be responsible for policing priorities, including youth justice.

And finally, a new online game to help train child protection professionals is due to be launched by the University of Kent. The Rosie 2 game, which follows an earlier version called Rosie 1, will be unveiled at an event in London on 26 October. The game is said to offer child protection professionals at all stages of their careers “a safe new medium to explore and reflect upon child protection assessment in a family situation”. The university is also launching a distance learning master's degree in advanced child protection in January 2013. David Shemmings, one of the developers of the game, said: “Our new Centre for Child Protection offers professionals unique opportunities to prepare for practice with children and families in light of Eileen Munro's government-sponsored review of child protection.”