Daily roundup: Shared parental leave, eating disorders and private sector partnerships in youth work

“Family friendly” laws are set to be announced this month to allow parents to share maternity leave and pay. The Telegraph reports that Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg will outline plans to let fathers take time off work and claim state benefits throughout the majority of the first year of their baby’s life if the mother returns to employment. Rosalind Bragg, director of charity Maternity Action, said: "This is a long overdue change which recognises that fathers as well as mothers can care for their baby. The increased flexibility will offer families real choices about managing work and caring responsibilities.”

A charity is calling for more support for young people, after statistics revealed hospital admissions for eating disorders have increased by 16 per cent. Lucie Russell, director of policy, at YoungMinds said: “We know that eating disorders are a physical sign of emotional distress. It is essential that we address the underlying problems that are so often the cause of young people turning to such extreme relationships with food. It is vital that these problems are identified early before they become entrenched. We must make sure there are accessible places where children and young people can go to talk to about the struggles they are facing and specialist resources available as soon as they are needed.”

A guide to help youth organisations approach potential business partners has been launched. The interactive guide, called Working with Business, includes advice on setting clear goals, identifying appropriate business partners and maintaining long-term relationships. The guide has been produced by United Futures, a charity consortium aiming to increase business engagement with the youth sector. The consortium, made up of UK Youth, the National Children’s Bureau and Business in the Community, is backed by £320,000 government funding.

New technology to cut the amount of time staff spend on inputting neonatal screening results is being trialled in Liverpool. Liverpool Community Health (LCH) NHS Trust is piloting a system that updates screening results electronically. Peter Woods, information management and technology senior project manager for Informatics Merseyside said: “Previously our local laboratories had to post all baby screening results to the trust for reporting purposes. These results were then manually inputted into an electronic system and provided to health visitors as a paper record, so it was a fairly inefficient process. But introducing this solution means that now we only need to enter data once for each child.”

The total number of apprenticeships increased in the third quarter of 2012, but the number of under-19s starting schemes fell, figures have revealed. The think-tank IPPR said that while the increase in apprenticeships is welcome, much of the growth has come from over 25s, rather than in places for young people. “Over 25s now take 44 per cent of all apprenticeships,” Tess Lanning, IPPR researcher said. “What’s more, workplace skills training for adults has fallen by 275,400 places, suggesting that employers have simply shifted their workers onto apprenticeships in order to continue getting government funding.”

And finally, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that £50m funding will dedicated to commemorating the centenary of the First World War, with part of the cash to be set aside for schools. The Guardian reports that the cash will help secondary schools explore the Great War and its consequences. Money will also go on commemorations on specific anniversaries related to the war, as well as an upgrade to the Imperial War Museum by 2014.