9 h. ago The Guardian view on the Send crisis: Bridget Phillipson must be tough with the Treasury so children aren’t penalised | Editorial

Tory special needs reforms upended council finances, but Labour’s plan to rebuild public provision won’t come cheap if it’s done properlyThe crisis over special educational needs and disabilities in England is not just a question of cash. Children and parents spend months and years battling for support to which the law entitles them, schools lack the funding to meet needs, and specialist provision is inadequate. An adversarial system shunts families towards tribunals that councils almost invariably lose.Tory reforms created obligations for local authorities but did not adequately fund them – allowing ministers to duck responsibility. The result has been financial chaos, with the overall overspend on special educational needs and disabilities (Send) predicted to reach £6.6bn by next March, and keep rising. Taking responsibility for funding away from councils and handing it to the Department for Education is the right move. But the most important questions about Send go beyond account...

Events

16 h. ago Gutting of key US watchdog could pave way for grave immigration abuses, experts warn

Former oversight officials alarmed by dismantling of DHS system that oversees complaints about civil rights harmsThe federal watchdog system at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that oversees complaints about civil rights violations, including in immigration detention, has been gutted so thoroughly that it could be laying the groundwork for the Trump administration to “abuse people with impunity”, experts warn.Former federal oversight officials have sounded the alarm at the rapid dismantling of guardrails against human rights failures – at the same time as the government pushes aggressive immigration enforcement operations.Border Patrol agents in Arizona forcibly removed a detained man from a cell, handcuffed him and then injected him with ketamine to sedate him in 2023, according to a CRCL document confirming the watchdog’s investigation into the allegation. A Guardian reporter had saved that document just weeks before it was scrubbed from the DHS’s website.Guards at a priv...

Events

44 h. ago What could be putting young women off marriage? It really isn’t that much of a mystery | Naoise Dolan

Survey data suggests more and more girls can’t imagine getting married, while their male counterparts are keener. That disparity holds a clueAccording to recent data, marriages in England and Wales are down by nearly 9% after a post-pandemic spike, while civil partnerships have risen by almost the same percentage. This downward trend is also reflected in the US. The Vatican has piped up in defence of the institution, releasing a 40-page doctrinal note, Una Caro (One Flesh): In Praise of Monogamy: Doctrinal Note on the Value of Marriage as an Exclusive Union and Mutual Belonging. Sworn celibates would not be my personal first port of call when seeking relationship advice, but to each their own – exclusively and indissolubly, if the Catholic church is to be believed.Among the younger crowd, gendered expectations about marriage are changing, at least according to a survey by the University of Michigan, which found that only 61% of high-school girls want to be married one day, compared ...

Politics

3 d. ago Sir David Beckham says he is ‘softer’ as a parent as family tensions with Brooklyn continue

The former England captain said he is proud that his four children have remained ‘humble’

Society

7 d. ago More then 2,000 trafficked children and lone child asylum seekers missing from UK councils’ care

Charities say vulnerable young people are being failed by local authorities, the police and central governmentMore than 2,000 children who have been trafficked or who arrived in the UK alone to claim asylum disappeared from social services’ care last year, according to freedom of information data shared with the Guardian.The authors of a report, Until Harm Ends, submitted FoI requests to children’s services departments in councils across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland asking for information about trafficked children and those who arrived alone in the UK and claimed asylum, who then went missing after being taken into care. Continue reading...

Events

7 d. ago More than 2,000 trafficked children and lone child asylum seekers missing from UK councils’ care

Charities say vulnerable young people are being failed by local authorities, the police and central governmentMore than 2,000 children who have been trafficked or who arrived in the UK alone to claim asylum disappeared from social services’ care last year, according to freedom of information data shared with the Guardian.The authors of a report, Until Harm Ends, submitted FoI requests to children’s services departments in councils across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland asking for information about trafficked children and those who arrived alone in the UK and claimed asylum, who then went missing after being taken into care. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Rachel Reeves to plough millions into children's playgrounds after years of Tory neglect

A Treasury source told The Mirror: 'This funding will breathe new life into play areas across England, creating safe, exciting spaces for thousands of children'

Politics

9 d. ago Scotland 'falling further behind England' in assessing children for ADHD or autism

Labour MP Imogen Walker spoke out after NHS Lanarkshire said it was only now appointing kids who were referred to its Neurodevelopmental Service in August 2021.

Politics

1 week ago Young adults less likely to spot economic abuse red flags, says charity

Some 7% of people surveyed did not recognise any of the examples of economic abuse given or were not sure.

Economics

1 week ago Three people in their 80s arrested in child sexual abuse probe

The accusations date back to the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s

Events

1 week ago Experts warn more firms could call time after October insolvencies spike

There were 2,029 company insolvencies in England and Wales in October, according to official data from the Insolvency Service.

Events

2 w. ago The banality of evil: how Epstein’s powerful friends normalised him

Long after his conviction for sexual abuse, people in royalty, academia, business, journalism and politics sought his earHe got by with a little help from his friends. From British royalty to White House alumni, from a Silicon Valley investor to a leftwing academic, connections and influence were the ultimate currency for Jeffrey Epstein.Yet none appeared to challenge Epstein over his horrific crimes. If silence is complicity, the casual disdain of the elite circles he moved in spoke volumes. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago FIFA president Gianni Infantino promises World Cup crackdown on online abuse

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has promised to take action against people abusing players, managers and referees with more than 30,000 posts already flagged

Politics

2 w. ago BUILD ON BELIEF RECEIVES DONATION TO SUPPORT PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE

BUILD ON BELIEF RECEIVES DONATION TO SUPPORT PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH SUBSTANCE ABUSE  London Post

Events

2 w. ago England footballer Raheem Sterling is target of shocking break

Raheem Sterling 's home has been targeted by thugs while the England is at home with his children

Events

2 w. ago Police want to identify two people after woman racially abused and assaulted at Bond Street station

Police want to identify two people after woman racially abused and assaulted at Bond Street station  Sky News

Events

2 w. ago Sick link between people convicted of wildlife abuse and crimes against humans

A new report compiled by the Wildlife and Countryside Link says the only way of knowing the true scale of wildlife crimes is for the government to add them to the noticeable register

Events

3 w. ago Fact check: Fake ‘train attack’ imagery and child obesity stats

Round-up of fact checks from the last week compiled by Full Fact.

Events

3 w. ago Top Tory Susan Hall faces backlash after suggesting some hate crime victims need to 'toughen up'

Stop mollycoddling people and teach them life skills to cope with abuse, suggests Conservative leader at City Hall

Events

3 w. ago Almost 30% of people abused as children, England and Wales data shows

ONS data, which includes emotional, physical and sexual abuse as well as neglect, suggests 13.6 million people affectedNearly a third of women in England and Wales were abused as a child, along with just over a quarter of men, according to new figures which for the first time include emotional, physical or sexual abuse as well as neglect.The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates 31.5% of women and 26.4% of men experienced some form of abuse as a child, a total of 13.6 million – almost three in 10 – people. Continue reading...

Events