Daily roundup: Televised tobacco, foster carer checks and family separation

Children see millions of images of smoking on television every week, research has revealed. A study by Cancer Research UK found that children in the UK are exposed to an average 59 million instances of tobacco imagery or messages, 16 million of actual smoking, and three million tobacco brand appearances every week. Jean King, Cancer Research UK's director of tobacco control, said: “It's important we protect young people from tobacco marketing and reduce the opportunities for the industry to advertise their lethal product."

Looked-after children in Neath Port Talbot may have been put at risk by a lack of Criminal Record Bureau checks on foster families, reports the South Wales Evening Post. Inspectors from the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales found the authority had no records of CRB checks in several cases. In response the inspectorate has issued the council with a non-compliance notice requiring it to take action on the matter. The council told the paper that it had done everything required of it and was confident that its systems would keep children safe.

The charity 4Children is to launch a quality mark for organisations that support families affected by separation. The Help and Support for Separated Families Mark is part of a government programme to help parents deal with a separation. Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children, said: “Family separation is extremely stressful and can take its toll on the whole family. There are some excellent organisations out there that can support families and help to minimise disruption for everyone involved so it’s important that parents know where to find them.”

Lord Michael Bichard is to take over as chair of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) in April. The crossbench peer is a former education department permanent secretary and also led the Bichard Inquiry into child protection checks following the murder of 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman by school caretaker Ian Huntley in 2002. “I am delighted to be joining SCIE,” he said. “I share the organisation’s enthusiasm for improving the lives of people who use care and support services.” He replaces Allan Bowman, who has chaired the organisation since 2006.

Teachers who had their application to open a free school rejected by the Department for Education have been granted permission to challenge the decision by the High Court on grounds of equality. The women wanted to set up a school for disadvantaged boys aged four to 19 in south London, including African-Caribbean boys, which they say could address problems around gang culture. The DfE rejected their bid on the grounds that the applicants had "limited experience of school leadership". But the High Court ruled that the teachers had cause to argue that the decision breached the 2010 Equality Act.

The London Assembly has unanimously backed a call for Mayor Boris Johnson to step up his efforts to tackle obesity in the capital. The motion, proposed by Green Party assembly member Jenny Jones and passed yesteday, urges Johnson to review his obesity policies and adopt relevant recommendations of the assembly’s Tipping the Scales and the Academy of Medical Royal College’s Measuring Up reports. “With around one in five children in London suffering from obesity we face a ticking time bomb that threatens to limit individuals' lives and overwhelm public services,” said Jones. “If the Mayor is serious when he says that a ‘perfect 2012 legacy is a leaner, fitter London free from childhood obesity’, he needs to focus all the tools at his disposal to turn that vision into reality.”