News round up: Five children rescued from paedophile dens

Five children rescued from paedophile dens

Five children have been rescued from paedophiles in a series of raids on homes in England and Scotland.

The boys and girls, aged between seven and 13, had been attacked on a regular basis and their abusers had planned to broadcast their ordeals over the internet.

Read more on this story in The Times

People in residential care need a new set of rights

Residential care providers complain about an implicit bias against them from policy makers and social care commissioners, and the development of personal budgets has reinforced this belief.

When people controlled their social care funding in the early pilots, most used this to move from residential care to ordinary tenancies. The conclusion is that residential care is now a less preferred option for those needing long-term housing and support.

Read more on this story in The Guardian

Murdered Stacey Lawrence may have been sexually assaulted, say police

Police investigating the murder of a nine-year-old girl whose body was found in a parked lorry are examining a possible sexual motive for her killing.

Detectives have ruled out a full sexual assault on Stacey Lawrence, who was found strangled in the cab of a lorry driven by her mother’s boyfriend, Darren Walker, 40. However, they are awaiting the results of tests to determine whether there was evidence of “sexual touching”.

Read more on this story in The Times

Scrap child trust funds and save £500m a year, think-tank says

Child Trust Funds, the Government’s plan to build nest eggs for future generations, could be under threat after it emerged that abolishing them would save about £500 million a year.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said yesterday that abolishing the funds could be “one of the less unattractive options” when decisions about spending cuts are made.
Read more on this story in The Times

Call for degree educated prison officers

Prison officers should be educated to degree level to help reduce inmate reoffending, a prison reform campaigner said today.

The Howard League for Penal Reform said the eight weeks of training for officers was not enough and their job should instead be on a par with professions like teaching and nursing.

Read more on this story in The Independent

A nation of bad parents: Britain’s youngsters among worst for drinking, smoking and teenage pregnancy, warns the OECD

Drinking, promiscuity and a cycle of low aspiration mean Britain is becoming the ‘bad parent’ of the western world.

A vast study of youngsters’ well-being in 30 industrialised nations ranked Britain among the worst for health, lifestyles and school standards relative to public spending levels.

Read more on this story in The Daily Mail