Category Archives: Children

Reeves’s tax cut on children’s meals a political ‘soundbite’, say restaurateurs

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Chancellor’s measure to help families save money during summer holidays ‘won’t make any difference’

Cutting tax on children’s meals is a political “soundbite” that will make little difference to families or businesses, restaurateurs have said.

This week, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced a temporary reduction in VAT on the children’s menu in restaurants from 20% to 5% between June and September, in order to help families with the cost of living crisis and offer a boost to the hospitality sector.

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Taliban ‘legitimising child marriage’ with new law, activists warn

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Up to 70% of girls may be in early or forced marriages but law now makes divorce impossible if husbands disagree

Child marriage appears to have been legally recognised for the first time by the Taliban in Afghanistan, as activists say “shameful” new laws make it almost impossible for girls and young women to seek divorce against their husbands’ will.

There are no official statistics on forced and underage marriages in Afghanistan, but activists say it has risen at an alarming rate in recent years, driven by the ban on girls being in education after the age of 11.

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Police say extra funds to hunt grooming gangs in England and Wales will ‘likely fall short’

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Government announces a near tenfold increase but forces fear it will not cover anticipated cost of dedicated teams

Keir Starmer’s government has announced a near tenfold increase in funding for detectives hunting grooming gangs but has been warned by police that the amount will “likely fall short” of what is needed.

Operation Beaconport, which was set up last year to review closed group-based sexual exploitation inquiries in England and Wales, will receive nearly £38m, a Home Office statement said – up from £4m given last year.

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NHS drugs go-ahead offers lifeline to children with rare muscle-wasting disease

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Medicines watchdog approves two treatments for patients with spinal muscular atrophy

Hundreds of children with a rare muscle-wasting disease will be able to receive two drugs that can improve their survival in a move parents hailed as a “lifeline”.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) has published final draft guidance recommending that any patient who would benefit can have either drug.

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New Orleans child molester questioned on unsolved killings takes the fifth 700 times

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Stanley Burkhardt, convicted abuser and ex-investigator of sex crimes against children, gives deposition in civil case

Convicted child molester Stanley Burkhardt – a former investigator of sex crimes against children who has been in and out of prison for decades – invoked his constitutional right against self-incrimination more than 700 times while being questioned under oath recently, including when asked whether he committed a series of unsolved murders of youths in his orbit.

Burkhardt’s decision to remain silent came when faced with questions about the killings during a deposition in a civil lawsuit by an alleged sexual abuse victim of his – a case aimed at him and the New Orleans police department (NOPD) which used to employ him.

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US state department to start revoking passports of parents who owe child support

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Revocations will start on Friday for those who owe $100,000 or more, and then expand to those who owe $2,500 or more

The US state department will begin revoking the US passports of thousands of parents who owe a significant amount of unpaid child support.

The department told the Associated Press on Thursday that the revocations would begin on Friday and be focused on those who owe $100,000 or more. That would apply to about 2,700 American passport holders, according to figures supplied to the state department by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

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‘Deplorable’: ICE hires firm accused of ‘torture’ to track down undocumented children

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Exclusive: Contractor denies allegations including ‘enforced disappearance’ and will help locate unaccompanied minors

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has awarded a contract to a private security company that has faced accusations of “torture” and “enforced disappearance” to assist in tracking down undocumented immigrant children who arrived in the US alone, a contracting document shows.

ICE has stepped up its work so much in pursuing these minors in the US that it has contracted out some of its mission to a third party to put “boots on the ground” and locate immigrant children previously released from US government custody.

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Meta found in breach of EU law for failing to keep children off platforms

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Commission says tech company does not have effective measures to keep under-13s off Facebook and Instagram

The tech company Meta has been found to be in breach of EU law for failing to prevent children under 13 from using its Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Issuing the preliminary findings of a nearly two-year investigation, the European Commission said on Wednesday that Meta did not have effective measures in place to stop under-13s accessing its services.

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‘Astonishing’ discovery could help save children from deadly disfiguring condition

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A previously unknown species of bacteria found in patients with noma could be key to creating treatments for the neglected tropical disease

The “astonishing” discovery of a new bacteria could open the door to better ways to prevent, detect and treat a fatal and disfiguring childhood disease, researchers hope.

Noma, which is fatal in 90% of cases without treatment, begins as a sore on the gums but goes on to destroy the tissues of the mouth and face.

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Black children in England and Wales almost eight times more likely to be strip-searched than white peers – report

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Demographic also overrepresented when police officers use force such as handcuffs, firearms or Tasers, says children’s commissioner

Black children across England and Wales are almost eight times more likely to be strip-searched by police than their white counterparts, a report has disclosed.

Rachel de Souza, the children’s commissioner for England, said Black children are also overrepresented when officers use force and were more likely to have their “size, gender or build” cited as justification.

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Minnesota boy fighting for life after rescuing younger brother from creek

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Ashkan Thibodeaux, five years old, saved his kid brother Wyatt after he fell into ‘icy water’ of creek they were exploring

A five-year-old Minnesota boy reportedly jumped into frigid water after his younger brother fell in on Easter Sunday to successfully rescue him – and has subsequently had to fight for his life at a hospital, a battle in which he is making steady progress, according to his family.

Ashkan Thibodeaux’s story, which has captured widespread attention in corners of the internet dedicated to spotlighting remarkable displays of bravery, began with exploring a creek in Minnesota’s Itasca county alongside his kid brother, Wyatt, on 5 April, his family and their supporters say.

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Child victims of online sexual abuse in UK inadequately protected, review finds

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Lack of funding leaving police forces failing to keep pace with two-thirds annual increase in referrals, says report

Child victims of online sexual abuse are being inadequately protected from further harm because police forces are struggling to cope with an increase in this crime, his majesty’s chief inspector of constabulary has warned.

Michelle Skeer said: “Without investment and coordination, the situation will worsen and children could be put at further risk.”

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More than a fifth of UK’s ‘austerity children’ scarred by poverty, study says

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Researchers say hardship is a direct legacy of welfare benefit cuts imposed by Tory governments in recent years

More than a fifth of all “austerity generation” British children have been scarred by poverty for at least half their childhood, a direct legacy of the welfare benefit cuts imposed by Conservative governments in recent years, research reveals.

The proportion of children born after 2013 who spent at least six of their first 11 years of life in hardship surged after ministers froze working age benefits levels and imposed policies such as the two-child limit, it found.

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State failing to learn lessons of Southport attack, say victims’ lawyers

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Exclusive: Guardian analysis suggests young people who pose ‘catastrophic’ threat still slipping through system

Ministers are “failing to learn the lessons” from the Southport attack and allowing violence-obsessed teenagers to remain a “catastrophic” threat to society, lawyers for victims of the atrocity have said ahead of the findings of an official inquiry.

A report on the July 2024 attack by the judge Sir Adrian Fulford, to be released on Monday, is expected to strongly criticise failings by a series of agencies, including the counter-terrorism programme Prevent.

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Man who groomed 14-year-old girl he met on Roblox jailed for 28 months

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Police say case highlights online dangers to children after Carlo Tritta pleads guilty to making indecent images

A man who obsessively groomed a 14-year-old girl he met through the online gaming platform Roblox has been jailed for 28 months.

Carlo Tritta, now 19, kept indecent images of the girl and travelled hundreds of miles from his home in Eastleigh, Hampshire in order to turn up, uninvited, at her home in Manchester.

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UK has detained 76 ‘age-disputed’ children under one in, one out scheme

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Concerns raised over minors placed in adult detention centres since removals began under scheme in September

More than 70 children from various conflict zones whose ages were disputed by the Home Office have been held in detention centres in the UK in preparation for forced removal to France under the government’s “one in, one out” scheme, research shows.

The one in, one out initiative means each small boat arrival can be forcibly returned to France in exchange for another person – who has not attempted the crossing – being brought to the UK legally.

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Court of appeal says it cannot rule on which identical twin fathered a child

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One twin wanted to take parental responsibility from the other for child P after both had sex with child’s mother

A woman who had sex with identical twins within four days of each other is unable to ensure one of them takes parental responsibility because it is “not possible” to know which is the father, the court of appeal has said.

One of the twins was registered as the father on the birth certificate of the child, referred to as P. His identical twin, along with the mother, sought to take over parental responsibility by asking the court of appeal to overturn a previous family court decision.

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Schools in England must be compelled to offer pupils healthy food, not junk

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School dinners have suffered at the hands of politics and economics for almost 50 years

Almost a generation has passed since Jamie Oliver’s four-part Channel 4 documentary series Jamie’s School Dinners exposed the unhealthy reality of the food served to pupils at lunchtime, including – notoriously – fat-heavy, meat-light Turkey Twizzlers. It proved a shaming and effective intervention. His ensuing Feed Me Better campaign led the then prime minister, Tony Blair, to pledge to make school lunches more nutritious and hand schools more money to do that, given the average lunch at that time cost just 45p to make.

Problem solved? Unfortunately not.

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Italy investigates beauty brands over concerns about young girls’ mental health

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Regulator fears use of ‘covert marketing strategies’ by Sephora and Benefit might fuel compulsive habits

Italian regulators are investigating Sephora and Benefit Cosmetics over the apparent use of “covert marketing strategies” to sell beauty products to young girls that might be fuelling an unhealthy skincare obsession known as “cosmeticorexia”.

The Italian Competition Authority said it was looking into promotions for skincare products such as face masks, serums and anti-ageing creams that in some cases appeared to target girls under 10.

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Keep under-fives’ screen time to no more than an hour a day, UK advice says

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Keir Starmer promises to help parents limit children’s online activity as government issues guidance to families

Children under five should spend no more than an hour a day on screens, new government advice says.

Screen time for children under two should be avoided except for shared activities encouraging interaction, families are advised.

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