Daily roundup: Police commissioners, child maintenance, and sexual coercion

Police and crime commissioners (PCCs) should be abolished and replaced by a new system, a review of policing in England and Wales has said. The review, led by ex-Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens and commissioned by Labour, said PCCs should be scrapped in 2016 and more power given to local councillors and local authorities. The review also recommends that some police forces are merged as the current 43-force structure is "untenable", the BBC reports.

The Child Support Agency (CSA) can no longer be used by new applicants as the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) takes over all new child maintenance cases from today. It is the start of the countdown to the transfer of all existing CSA cases to the CMS by next year. The new system, which will include charges for some parents to use the service, will result in thousands of families giving up on maintenance altogether and their children going without vital support, warn charity Gingerbread, which is campaigning against the changes.

A researcher is calling on schools to address sexual coercion after the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) found that one in 10 women in Britain have been forced into having sex against their will. According to the Guardian, lead Natsal author Wendy Macdowall wants early intervention in schools to deal with sexual coercion, which she says has become “normalised”.

The Child Poverty Action Group estimates that child poverty costs Reading £85m a year. According to the Reading Post, extra benefits, lower life earnings and increased pressures on social services and health are to blame. The figure was brought to light during a meeting of Reading Borough Council’s Tackling Poverty in Reading campaign, where it was also revealed that nearly a third of the town’s schoolchildren are eligible for the pupil premium.

YouthNet has launched an app that signposts young people to their nearest support services. Stepfinder has been designed to help young people access a range of services, including mental health, contraception and bereavement, with as little stress as possible. It also features advice and tips from others who have previously used the same services.

The Child Accident Prevention Trust has launched a campaign to raise awareness of burns and scalds among families with young children. Six toddlers every day are admitted to hospital in the UK because they have been badly burned or scalded. The trust is urging professionals that work with young families to get involved with the campaign and has produced information and resources to give to parents.