Source: Disclosure and Barring Service published on this website Monday 27 October 2025 by Jill Powell

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has launched a new national campaign to raise awareness of the legal duty to refer - the process organisations must follow by law when there are safeguarding concerns about individuals in regulated activity.  

The first phase of the campaign is being rolled out across the South East of England, with a particular focus on engaging faith-based organisations. In the past seven years, referrals from the faith sector have accounted for just 0.51% of all submissions, highlighting significant gaps in safeguarding reporting.  

This campaign aims to close that gap by increasing understanding of when referrals must be made, how the process works, and why it matters.   

Events, resources, and outreach 

The campaign will run over 12 weeks, and includes a series of free, virtual workshops delivered by DBS’ South East Regional Outreach Adviser. These sessions will explain the barring process and the legal responsibilities of organisations and employers to refer.  

There are two types of workshops:  

Meet your Regional Outreach Adviser drop-in session  

• 20th November, 1pm: register here: //events.teams.microsoft.com/event/97d9b3f4-b824-4c59-90d7-fcd2a9bf6642@f24d93ec-b291-4192-a08a-f182245945c2"> Meet your Regional Outreach Adviser, Teams 
• 19th December 2025, 10am: register here: //events.teams.microsoft.com/event/cda0aa43-9286-42bb-bd81-d44ef5e29ee2@f24d93ec-b291-4192-a08a-f182245945c2"> Meet your Regional Outreach Adviser, Teams  

Legal duty to refer bitesize workshop 

• 19th November, 10am: register here: DBS Legal Duty to Refer Bitesize, Eventbrite 

Pop-up clinics

In addition to the workshops, DBS will also be hosting pop-up clinics across the South East, offering free, in-person advice and practical guidance. These sessions will include: 

• myth-busting around the referral process 
• real-world referral threshold scenarios 
• peer-led discussions 
• live walk-throughs of how to make a referral 
• opportunities to ask DBS staff questions directly 

Where and when? 

• Reading, Thursday 6 November, 09:30-12:00pm and 13:00-15:30pm. 
• Tonbridge (Kent), Tuesday 18 November, 09:30-12:00pm and 13:00-15:30pm. 
• Brighton, Wednesday 3 December, 09:30-12:00pm and 13:00-15:30pm. 
• Southampton, Wednesday 17 December, 09:30-12:00pm and 13:00-15:30pm. 

These are in-person events, with morning and afternoon slots available. To register, visit DBS’ Eventbrite page to secure your place.   

Explainer videos

A 60-second explainer series will also be launched on DBS social media channels, covering key topics, including: 

• what is the legal duty to refer? 
• what is regulated activity? 
• when must a referral be made? 
• what happens after a referral is submitted? 
• what are the consequences of not referring? 

Keep an eye out on the //www.youtube.com/@DisclosureandBarringService">DBS YouTube Channel, as these explainer videos will be launching soon.  

Learn more 

To support organisations, DBS has published a range of materials on  GOV.UK, including: 

• Guidance on the legal duty to refer to DBS
• Leaflets such as Barring Referrals - How and when to make one
• A step-by-step flowchart explaining the referral process

How to get involved 

You can take part in the campaign in several ways: 

• attend a virtual workshop  
• visit a pop-up clinic  
• watch our 60-second explainer videos hosted on our YouTube channel, and social media platforms 

Source: Office for Product Safety and Standards published on this website Thursday 23 October 2025 by Jill Powell

A new variant of dangerous baby self-feeding products has appeared where the pillow part takes the form of an animal head shape.

Baby self-feeding products are designed to enable babies to bottle feed with little or no assistance from a caregiver. This creates a risk of serious harm or death from choking on the feed or aspiration pneumonia.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards has identified that all baby self-feeding products are dangerous due to their design and intended use and can never be made safe, regardless of any changes to their appearance. It issued a Product Safety Alert concerning them in December 2022. The public was urged to stop using them immediately and dispose of them safely. Businesses and local authority trading standards services were also asked to take specific actions to remove them from the market.

• Read the Product Safety Alert
• Read the news story announcing the Product Safety Alert
• Read guidance on safe bottle feeding – NHS website

Source: Department of Health and Social Care published on this website Friday 24 October 2025 by Jill Powell

Millions of women across England will benefit from the menopause being included in routine NHS health checks for the first time - marking a landmark step forward in women’s healthcare. 

Routine appointments will now tackle one of society’s most overlooked health challenges, ensuring women experiencing perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms get the right information and support, while also raising awareness earlier so more women recognise the signs and seek help sooner if needed. 

The addition of dedicated questions to the NHS Health Check about the menopause - free assessments offered to eligible adults aged 40 to 74 every 5 years - will benefit nearly 5 million women. 

Too often, women’s experiences of menopause have been minimised or misunderstood, with symptoms sometimes mistaken for other conditions or attributed to stress or lifestyle factors. Today’s announcement will help bring menopause into the mainstream of healthcare conversations - delivering on the government’s Plan for Change by building an NHS fit for the future. 

The NHS Health Check is aimed at identifying people with health risks including cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and dementia. 

By making menopause a part of these health checks, we’re raising awareness of symptoms and giving women the confidence to seek help. Women reporting symptoms will be directed to services, information and treatment options to provide relief. 

The move marks a crucial shift in women’s healthcare, as it empowers clinicians to proactively address concerns that often go unrecognised, ensuring women feel heard and supported during what can be a challenging transition. 

Questions in the health checks will be developed over the coming months with health experts feeding in. 

Menopause affects all women differently, with most experiencing the transition between ages 45 and 55, though symptoms can begin earlier during perimenopause. 

Three-quarters of women experience symptoms - from physical changes like joint pain, weight gain and hot flushes to cognitive effects such as memory issues and brain fog - which can last an average of 7 years and significantly impact daily life. Yet fewer than 1 in 10 feel they have enough information to deal with it. 

The government has made significant strides in women’s health since taking office, including: 

• gynaecology waiting lists beginning to fall for the first time in years, with the government investing additional funding to tackle the backlog of cases
• we have set out how we will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through the new cervical cancer plan for England, and emergency hormonal contraception is due to be made available free of charge on the NHS at pharmacies from the end of this month (October 2025)
• the government has also introduced Jess’s Rule, which ensures GPs in England ‘think again’ if they see a patient 3 times and cannot identify a diagnosis, or find symptoms are getting worse

Overhauling women’s healthcare is a key part of the government’s Plan for Change to build an NHS fit for the future, ensuring healthcare services are personalised and preventative.

Source: Ministry of Justice published on this website Wednesday 22 October 2025 by Jill Powell

Thousands more children will be protected from vile sex offenders under amendments to the Victims and Courts Bill tabled in Parliament on Monday 20 October.

The new measures will see parental responsibility automatically restricted in cases of children born of rape, and when a parent is convicted of serious sex offences against any child. This means a parent can no longer take active steps in their child’s life, including making decisions over their schooling, medical care or trips abroad.

The move delivers on the long-term campaign of Natalie Fleet MP, Baroness Harman and Jess Asato MP and will provide greater protection for vulnerable children.  

Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, said: 

“These reforms mark a crucial step forward in restoring faith in our justice system. Automatically restricting parental responsibility in cases of rape where it has led to the birth of a child and serious child sexual offences sends a clear message: the rights and safety of children come first.  This Government is committed to standing up for victims and ensuring that those who commit the most vile crimes against children are never in a position to cause further harm.”

Natalie Fleet MP said:

“This amendment will finally offer protection for not only children born of rape, but also the mothers, who have until now always lived in fear of their rapists interfering in the lives of their children through their parental responsibility rights. This change will end that fear.

“It puts the rights of survivors above the rights of rapists and signals a landmark shift in how this country’s legal system values safety, dignity, and truth. It will deliver powerful, lasting change for thousands of women and children and I am delighted that this Government has listened to our concerns and acted so swiftly.”

To ensure swift protection for families, restriction will happen immediately following sentencing, removing the necessity to apply through the family court. 

Restricting parental responsibility for children born of rape protects two victims – the mother and the child – from the influence of abusive and undeserving fathers, whereas removing the right for those convicted of serious sex offences against any child builds on the existing measure to restrict responsibility for those who have abused their own child.

This move follows the expansion of the government’s innovative Pathfinder pilot, which aims to improve the court experience and outcomes for children and parents involved in private family law proceedings - including those who have experience of domestic abuse.