Source: Department of Health and Social Care published on this website Friday August 22 2025 by Jill Powell

Parents and carers across England will be able to shop for healthier food for their children with new guidelines for commercial baby food to reduce salt and sugar, along with clearer labelling to help parents make informed decisions.    

Baby food manufacturers will be given 18 months to reduce sugar and salt levels in baby foods aimed at children up to 36 months old.    

Businesses will be challenged to change the recipes for their products to reduce levels of salt and sugar, without the use of sweeteners as these are not permitted for use in commercial baby food. And clearer labelling guidelines will be introduced to help parents understand more easily what food they are buying for their children.    

This government is committed to taking a different approach, to ensure it is on the side of parents and children so that babies are given the best start in life. This means going further and faster to support parents to make easier, healthier choices that will have benefits in the long term, easing pressures on parents without them having to change the products they usually buy.

Obesity costs the NHS £11.4 billion a year and is one of the root causes of diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and obesity rates have doubled since the 1990s – including among children. High sugar intake in children’s diets is a significant factor contributing to high rates of childhood obesity in the UK, which is among the highest in Western Europe

For too long, it’s been difficult for parents to work out what is healthy and what’s not because of confusing labelling. But this government is steadfast in its mission to make it easier than ever before to make better, more informed choices that work better around the busy lives of parents, where the new guidelines will help to put an end to the burden being on parents to sift through different products to choose the healthier ones. 

The move comes as government hits the ground running in delivering its 10 Year Plan, which set out a swathe of preventative measures for children’s healthcare including more support from health visitors, better-quality early childhood developmental checks and a drive to tackle childhood obesity.  

Public Health Minister Ashley Dalton said:    

“Every child deserves a healthy, happy start to life. But babies’ development is being harmed by poor diets and unhealthy food, holding them back and piling up pressure on the NHS. Too often, parents are bombarded with confusing labels, disguising unhealthy foods packed with hidden sugars and salt.  

“Our Plan for Change will tackle this, giving parents the information they need and providing children with good nutritious food.  I’m determined to make it far easier for parents to keep their children healthy. From working with influencers to get children exercising, to banning junk food ads near schools – our 10 Year Health Plan will help kids today be part of the healthiest generation of children ever.”

The guidelines will also tackle misleading labelling that often conflicts with official feeding advice.

For example, some products labelled as snacks for babies from seven months onwards directly contradict government recommendations that children aged 6-12 months do not need snacks between meals, only milk.

Manufacturers will also be told to cease using misleading marketing claims that make products appear healthier than they are - for example, products with labels such as “contains no nasties” - when products may be high in sugar.  

The move comes as data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey published in June shows that more than two-thirds of children aged 18 months to 3 years are eating too much sugar, while over a fifth of children aged 4 to 5 years are overweight or living with obesity in England.  

This excessive sugar intake increases the risk of weight gain and dental decay in the crucial early years of development.    

Through the Plan for Change, the government aims to give every child the best start in life, which includes an extra £57 million for Start for Life services, helping expectant and new mothers with their infants, as well as expanded school-based nurseries and free breakfast clubs.

As part of our 10 Year Health Plan, the government launched a world-first partnership with food retailers and manufacturers to set a new healthy food standard, helping to make the average shopping basket healthier for families.  If everyone who is overweight reduced their calorie intake by around 200 calories a day - the equivalent of a bottle of fizzy drink - obesity would be halved.

The government has also joined forces with fitness coach Joe Wicks to help get children active over the summer through the launch of a new animated series, Activate, available via YouTube.

From January 2026, adverts for less healthy products will be banned from being shown on TV before 9pm or at any time online, reducing children’s excessive exposure to many foods high in fat, sugar or salt. The government has also granted more powers to local authorities to ban fast food shops from setting up outside of schools.

Source: Metropolitan Police published on this website Wednesday August 20 2025 by Jill Powell

A man identified as one of London’s most dangerous offenders has been jailed for rape and sexual assault following an investigation led by Met Police detectives.

The Met’s innovative ‘V100’ programme is transforming the way officers can identify and target the most dangerous perpetrators of violence against women and girls. The V100 programme uses data to identify and target the men who pose the highest risk to women. This allows us to focus the efforts of local and specialist Met officers across London on reducing the threat posed by the most dangerous perpetrators and protecting potential victims from the devastating damage they cause. 

Clinton Easy, 32 (10.09.92), of Lutwyche Road, SE6, was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum sentence of 12 years on Thursday, 14 August at Woolwich Crown court.

A restraining order will also be imposed by the judge.

The sentencing followed two trials. During the first trial beginning in July 2024, Easy pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and two charges of actual bodily harm and was found guilty of controlling and coercive behaviour.

The second trial began in May 2025 where Easy was found guilty of two charges of rape.

Detective Inspector Jemma Gregory said: “Easy’s offending is shocking and sets him as a dangerous individual who, thanks to the reports from the victim and strong storyboard of evidence collated by the team, is now safely behind bars.

“I would like to commend the victim on her strength throughout the investigation and thank her for her support throughout the court processes. It is clear that her early reporting has strengthened this case to secure a strong sentence.

“The Met is dedicated to tackling violence against women and girls by hunting down predatory men, with innovative methods being used in practice to secure convictions and strong sentences against those who pose the highest risk.”

Officers were alerted to Easy’s offending following a report made by the victim on 11 January 2024.

Earlier in the evening, Easy had subjected the victim to multiple rapes within her own home, after persuading her to allow him to enter her property.

Threatening her with extreme violence, Easy had bound the victim’s hands while he assaulted her.

A report was made by the victim within hours of the offending taking place, and so officers worked resourcefully to obtain photos of injuries and collect evidence from the scene of the offending, including a cup of Easy’s urine which had been thrown.

Through speaking to the victim, detectives uncovered a pattern of offending which had begun with controlling behaviours against the victim, where Easy would take her phone and post on her social media accounts.

It became apparent that Easy’s offending had been ongoing for nearly a year with medical records acquired by detectives showing that his attacks had led to the victim to require hospital treatment on multiple occasions in 2023.

Officers established a timeline with a storyboard of evidence gathered post the events

Easy was arrested following a manhunt on 1 February 2024.

The Met is using a number of tactics including our V100 to improve the response to violence against women and girls (VAWG). We have also rolled out training to 20,000 frontline officers and added 565 specially trained officers and staff into teams tackling VAWG which has doubled charges for rape since 2022 and secured 389 Stalking Protection Orders.

Source: Church of England published on this website Thursday 21 August 2025 by Jill Powell

The jury at the Inner London Crown Court yesterday returned verdicts on 32 of the 37 charges against Chris Brain comprising guilty and not guilty outcomes in respect of the indecent assault charges. As the remaining five charges are still being considered by the jury we will comment further when the trial is fully completed.

The Church of England recognise this will be a difficult time for many and support details can be accessed here: Additional Support Options.

Source: Department for Education  published on this website Tuesday 19 August 2025 by Jill Powell

The Department for Education (DfE) is calling for evidence to inform the development of government policy on safeguarding in the out-of-school settings (OOSS) sector.

This call for evidence is being held on another website.

This call for evidence closes at
11:59pm on 21 September 2025

The Department for Education has extended the closing date to give as many people as possible a chance to share their views.

The OOSS sector covers a broad and diverse range of providers, including organisations and individuals that offer:

• tuition
• training
• instruction
• enrichment activities

Settings can include:

• supplementary schools
• tuition centres
• private tutors
• extra-curricular clubs and activities, such as sports and arts
• uniformed youth organisations, such as Scouts and Brownies
• holiday camps and activity centres
• religious settings offering tuition or education in their own faith

This call for evidence will help government understand respondents’ views and experiences regarding:

• current safety and safeguarding in OOSS
• initial thoughts on the development of potential future options

This call for evidence is open to any interested individual or organisation. However, DfE is particularly interested in hearing from:

• parents and carers
• children
• OOSS providers
• local authorities
• other organisations with safeguarding responsibilities or an interest or role in safeguarding children, such as:
  • Ofsted
  • the police
  • integrated care boards and relevant health partners
  • the Children’s Commissioner
  • the Charity Commission for England and Wales
  • the NSPCC
• accreditation bodies
• schools and colleges
• individuals doing paid or unpaid work in any of the above organisations