Daily roundup: XXXXX

Sex offenders will face longer jail terms under new guidelines due to come into effect next year in England and Wales. The BBC reports that cganges to sentencing guidance will means the sentences will reflect the offender's behaviour and motivation to a greater degree.

The number of parental child abduction cases has more than doubled in the last decade, new figures from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) suggest.
The FCO and charity Reunite say almost two children a day on average are taken out of the UK against a court order or without the consent of one parent.
There were 272 new parental child abduction and international custody cases in 2003-04, and 580 in 2012-13.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25343314

Birmingham's beleaguered children’s services CAN show signs of improvement when Government inspectors visit next month, a meeting has heard.
The pledge by Brigid Jones, cabinet member for children’s services, comes amid threats of direct government intervention because the department has failed to shed its ‘inadequate’ rating since 2009.
Only last month an Ofsted inspection was cancelled and replaced with a review to be carried out by an expert panel from the Department for Education. The move was seen by some as heralding a more direct approach to the troubled service.
The department has hit the headlines through a series of high-profile and preventable deaths of children known to social workers, including Khyra Ishaq and Keanu Williams.
There have also been reports of a recruitment crisis, high sickness and stress levels and immense workloads.

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/birmingham-childrens-services-can-still-6396963