Daily roundup: Teenage pregnancies, abuse campaign, and Universal Credit
Neil Puffett
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Fall in number of births to teenage mums; Home Office campaign on teen abuse launches; and government welfare reforms to be delayed, all in the news today.
The numbers of babies born to teenage mothers has fallen, latest figures show. Statistics published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre show there were 30,790 teenage deliveries in 2012/13, an 8.4 per cent reduction on 2011/12 when there were 33,620.
Actors from TV series Hollyoaks and pop group The Wanted are starring in new television adverts to highlight the issue of abuse within teenage relationship. The Home Office campaign, called This is Abuse, aims to highlight to young people what constitutes abuse and sexual consent, and provide to challenge abusive behaviour in relationships, as well as where to find help.
Government’s plans to reform the welfare system may not be complete by 2017 as planned. The BBC reports that Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, architect of the Universal Credit programme, said some people receiving Employment Support Allowance may not be transferred in time. This would mean around 700,000 people moving to Universal Credit after 2017.
The equivalent of 20 classrooms-full of children take up smoking every day in the UK, new research has estimated. The Independent reports that 207,000 children start smoking in the UK every year – or nearly 600 per day, according to a paper published in the British Medical Journal.
Councils in Wales are failing to keep track of children going missing from children's homes across Wales, it has been claimed. The BBC reports that Labour assembly member for Mid and West Wales Joyce Watson said local authorities in Wales are not yet fully implementing Welsh government guidelines to protect children who go missing from care. She also called for local authorities to take more action to tackle child exploitation.
And finally, police in riot helmets have arrested a 10-year-old boy on suspicion of burglary following a dawn raid in Coventry. The Daily Mail reports that the boy is believed to be one of the youngest targets of a dawn raid and was held along with his 37-year-old father as part of a crackdown on gangs.
