To mark National Adoption Week, the Education Secretary has called for an overhaul of the ‘overly bureaucratic’ adoption system.
Gavin Williamson said that ‘too many lifestyle judgements’ are made on potential adopters, with the consequence that there are not enough adoptive parents to go around. The shortfall is resulting in children being ‘bounced around the system’ as they wait for a family, he added.

Labour leader Sir Kier Starmer has called for a short lockdown or ‘circuit-breaker’ in England of two to three weeks.

Hackney Council has announced that it has been the target of a serious cyber attack, which is affecting many of its services and IT systems.
A statement from Philip Glanville, Mayor of Hackney, informed that council officers have been working closely with the National Cyber Security Centre, external experts and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to investigate and understand the impact of the incident.
It is not yet clear what type of cyber attack has hit the council or whether residents' data has been exposed.

A new report has argued that the so-called 'hardest to reach' may hold a key to pandemic recovery, but are not being listened to.

There has been extremely high demand for Free School Meals this Autumn, highlighting the hard-hitting socio-economic consequences of coronavirus.

The government has announced a new £10 million Cold Weather Fund to support councils get rough sleepers off the streets during the winter.

More than 1,300 arts and cultural organisations are expected to benefit from a share of £257 million from the Culture Recovery Fund.

Doctors have called for clearer additional coronavirus measures, including making the wearing of face masks mandatory in all offices.

Legal action has been launched over the government’s failure to disclose details of its spending on contracts related to the coronavirus pandemic.