Daily roundup: Youth remand funding, foster families' bedroom tax, and child sexual abuse strategy

London Councils has raised "serious concerns" about government plans to reduce youth remand funding for local authorities in a letter to Justice Secretary Chris Grayling. In the letter, seen by CYP Now, London Councils' executive member for children and young people Peter John said he was “extremely concerned that this financial burden will have a hugely detrimental impact on the level of support that boroughs are able to provide”. He said funding for secure remand placements would be subject to a 26 per cent cut, which was more than the 15 per cent suggested in a consultation. In February, the government announced that funding to allow local authorities to take on financial responsibility for young offenders on remand from April had been cut by 18 per cent.

Eleven children’s charities have written an open letter to the government calling for foster carers to be exempt from future changes to housing benefit. Occupants of social housing will see their benefits reduced under the so-called "bedroom tax" from April if they are considered to have a spare bedroom. Under the current proposals, fostered children will not be counted when assessing the number of occupants. The letter, whose signatories include the Fostering Network, Tact, Barnardo's, and the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, said: “These new rules will make it even more difficult for people in social housing to become foster carers at a time when we urgently need more to come forward.”

Criminal justice system policy and guidance on child sexual abuse is to be overhauled, the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Association of Chief Police Officers have announced. The measure is part of a package of proposals intended to reform the way child sexual abuse is handled. Other changes include better training for police and prosecutors and the formation of a national scoping panel, which will review complaints made in the past. Chief constable David Whatton said: “We have proposed a package of measures, including a rationalisation of guidance, training and consideration of a review panel mechanism, to ensure we have truly learned from the lessons of the past."

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) expects the Youth Justice Grant for youth offending teams across England and Wales to be reduced by 8.8 per cent in 2013/14. The MOJ said the funding allocation reflected the reduction in the department’s own estimated budget. Final confirmation of the Youth Justice Grant funding is expected later this month.

Childhood ends at 12, a survey has suggested. More than 70 per cent of parents polled by parenting website Netmums said their children were no longer “childlike” by the age of 12. Of the more than 1,000 parents surveyed, 45 per cent said their daughters were under immense strain to be thin, while the greatest pressure on boys was to be “macho before they were ready”. Netmums co-founder Siobhan Freegard said: “There needs to be a radical rethink in society to revalue childhood and protect it as a precious time – not time to put pressure on children to grow up far too fast."

Family campaigners want social workers to receive mandatory training on drug and alcohol issues. Family drug and alcohol abuse charity Adfam raised the issue during a meeting of the Associate Parliamentary Group for Parents and Families, after a report showed social workers don't have compulsory training on substance misuse despite it being an issue in about a quarter of caseloads.