Daily roundup: child alcohol consumption, food banks and child protection inspection

Data published by the Health & Social Care Information Centre shows that alcohol drinking among school-age children has more than halved over the past decade. In 2011, 12 per cent of children had drunk alcohol in the last week, a decline from 26 per cent in 2001, and at a similar level to 2010. Alcohol Statistics 2013 also reveal 45 per cent of pupils said that they had drunk alcohol at least once, the same level as in 2010, but lower than the 61 per cent who said they had in 2001. Frequency of drinking has also declined from 20 per cent in 2001 to 7 per cent a decade later.

More than half a million people are now forced to rely on food banks to feed themselves and their families, key poverty charities have warned in a report by the Trussell Trust, the UK's biggest provider of food banks. The report, Walking the Breadline, blames the increasing pressure on food banks on changes to the benefits system, as well as on unemployment, increased underemployment, low and falling incomes and rising food and fuel prices, according to The Guardian. Analysis from a food bank in Blackburn has also shown that it fed 712 children over the past six months, more than a third of the total helped, reports the Blackburn Citizen.

A three-year review of child protection services at Scotland's 32 councils has revealed concerns about the support given to vulnerable children, STV has reported. The review by the Care Inspectorate has concluded that social workers need to do more for children who fall just below the threshold for being placed on the child protection register. Its report, due to be published today, praises strong leadership and co-operation among those working to keep youngsters safe from harm.

The Pre-School Learning Alliance has criticised the Department for Education for refusing to release the details of the responses to the government’s Childcare Commission consultation. The Alliance filed a Freedom of Information request to the DfE on 14 February asking the department to provide copies of the 328 written responses to the consultation, which ended last August. It took 53 days - more than double best practice for FOI requests to be responded to - before the department told the Alliance that it will not release the information on the grounds that to do so would breach the formulation and development of government policy.

The free care given by grandparents to their grandchildren has been valued at £7.3bn, a study suggests. According to the Sun, the figure has almost doubled over the past decade, due to the rising costs of formal childcare forcing more parents to turn to their own parents for help. Based on average childcare rates, the 1.7bn hours of care from grandparents is worth £7.3bn, up from £3.9bn in 2004.

And finally, Salford Council is reportedly considering banning the sale of hot food to school children during the day in an effort to tackle rising obesity levels. The Manchester Evening News reports that any new takeaways, fast food outlets and fish and chip shops near schools would be banned from selling hot food to children before 5pm under proposals being developed by the council. Councillor Margaret Morris told the paper that the proposals had been drawn up "as children should be encouraged to eat healthily".