1. New laws to protect victims of ‘honour’- based abuse as part of the Crime and Policing Bill
Victims and survivors of ‘honour’- based abuse will be kept safer through a new legal definition and guidance to help improve how frontline professionals support victims and pursue perpetrators.

Recent statistics show that nearly 3,000 ‘honour’- based abuse related offences were recorded by the police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2025. However, due to the hidden nature of ‘honour’- based abuse, this is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg, as it is believed many of these harrowing incidents and crimes go unreported.

A legal definition of ‘honour’- based abuse has been brought into the government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill. Alongside a power to issue crucial statutory guidance for authorities, the new legal definition will help the police, social workers and other public authorities better support victims, and set clear expectations for professionals with safeguarding responsibilities in the handling of these cases.

It will also help stop vital information, which could hold perpetrators to account in a criminal trial, from falling through the cracks.

The move is supported by over 60 charities, including Karma Nirvana, which has campaigned for these reforms since the tragic murder of Fawziyah Javed in 2021.

Fawziyah, from Leeds and pregnant at the time, was brutally killed when her husband pushed her from Arthur’s Seat, in a case that showcased how harmful ideas of perceived ‘dishonour’ can lead to tragedy.

Fawziyah experienced domestic abuse which was compounded by ‘honour’- based abuse in the lead-up to her death, highlighting the need to improve the way that statutory systems recognise this form of abuse.

The definition, alongside a power to issue statutory guidance, has been introduced via an amendment at Report stage of the Crime and Policing Bill in the House of Lords, making both measures law across England and Wales.

The bill aims to restore public confidence in the criminal justice system and drive forward the government’s highly ambitious missions to halve both knife crime and violence against women and girls within the next decade.

The measures follow the publication of the VAWG Strategy in December, which unveils how every lever of the state is to be used to protect women and girls and halve VAWG crimes in a decade.

2. Spiritual and immigration abuse included in CPS ‘honour’-based abuse guidance for first time
Spiritual abuse and immigration abuse have been included in prosecution guidance for the first time to help prosecutors tackle emerging harmful practices.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) published strengthened guidance for prosecutors to help tackle ‘honour’-based abuse, forced marriage and a widening range of harmful practices.

The updated guidance reflects growing concerns around evolving forms of abuse and sets out how prosecutors should build robust cases where victims may be controlled, coerced, or unable to safely support a prosecution.

Newly included are harmful practices such as dowry abuse, immigration-related exploitation, transnational marriage abandonment, and spiritual or ritualistic abuse linked to beliefs in witchcraft, spirit possession or demonic influence.
Virginity testing and hymenoplasty have also been added to reflect changes in legislation.

The guidance recognises the close link between ‘honour’-based abuse and these harmful practices, emphasising the importance for prosecutors to consider family pressure, cultural expectations, and coercive control when making charging decisions and building cases.

Tackling spiritual-related abuse

The CPS has expanded its guidance to support prosecutors handling reports of abuse linked to faith, belief or ritual and reflecting our growing understanding of how these cases present in real-life situations.

This includes harm justified by accusations of witchcraft, spirit or demonic possession, or involvement in ritual or satanic practice.

This type of abuse can impact anyone, including children, adults and vulnerable adults, and can take many forms including financial abuse, physical violence, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, neglect or homicide.

These cases often involve:

• violent exorcisms
• beatings, starvation or forced ingestion of harmful substances
• scapegoating children or vulnerable adults for misfortune
• extreme psychological, emotional and sometimes sexual abuse
• homicide.

While there is no standalone offence for this type of abuse, the updated guidance makes clear that prosecutors must treat these cases as serious criminality within the wider context of harmful practices and ‘honour’-based abuse, assessing which offences may apply on a case-by-case basis.

Immigration related abuse

The updated guidance also highlights immigration related abuse – a form of domestic abuse and harmful practice where perpetrators exploit a person’s immigration status to control and entrap them.

This can include threats of deportation, withholding vital documents, restricting access to support services, financial control, reporting them to the authorities – as well as practices such as transnational marriage abandonment, where a spouse is deliberately taken abroad and left there without resources to prevent their return to the UK.

While not a standalone offence, prosecutors are urged to consider all relevant criminal offences and apply domestic abuse and coercive or controlling behaviour guidance when assessing these cases.

Putting victims at the centre

The revised guidance further strengthens the CPS focus on safeguarding and victim support, highlighting:

• early protective measures, such as Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs)
• careful and appropriate use of interpreters
• culturally informed expert evidence to explain context
• evidence-led prosecutions where victims cannot safely engage
• close partnership working with specialist organisations

The guidance delivers a core commitment under the CPS Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, launched in November 2025, ensuring prosecutors are equipped to respond to evolving forms of abuse and protect those at greatest risk.

1. Out-of-school settings: safeguarding guidance for providers updated
Updated Safeguarding guidance, e-learning and resources for providers of after-school clubs, activities and tuition, and other out-of-school settings.

On 9th February 2026 the guidance was updated to include the 'DBS checks when self-employed or volunteering' section to include updated information on Enhanced with Barred Lists DBS checks and reflect changes to DBS advice on eligibility.

National review calls for urgent action to protect vulnerable unborn babies and infants
A National child safeguarding review in February 2026 has called for urgent action to better protect vulnerable unborn babies and infants, following the tragic death of baby Victoria Marten.

Baby Victoria was born in December 2022 and died in early 2023 after her parents, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, concealed her birth and deliberately evaded statutory services. In 2025 both of baby Victoria’s parents were convicted of gross negligence manslaughter, child cruelty, perverting the course of justice, and concealing the birth of a child.

While the circumstances of baby Victoria’s death are very rare, the review finds that the professional challenges and systemic safeguarding issues involved are much more common. The review highlights multiple risks in baby Victoria’s family circumstances including several concealed pregnancies, repeated child removals, domestic abuse, poor engagement with services, serious offending, and frequent moves between different areas. Many of these issues appear repeatedly in serious safeguarding incidents.

More than 5,000 unborn babies and infants under the age of one were subject to child protection plans last year. Such huge volumes of vulnerable unborn babies and infants, and struggling parents, represent a lot of risk but also a lot of opportunity to intervene positively in family life.

The review concludes that baby Victoria’s death was not predictable but, given the repeating pattern of concealed pregnancies and child removals in the family history, baby Victoria needed professionals to think ahead and consider her safety even before she was conceived. A stronger focus on engaging with her parents and earlier coordinated action across all relevant services might have made a difference.

The review calls for clearer national guidance to ensure vulnerable unborn babies and infants are consistently considered within child protection frameworks, alongside stronger multi agency working and improved information sharing.

Key findings and recommendations include:

• Earlier and stronger pre birth safeguarding, including national guidance that explicitly includes vulnerable unborn babies and infants, and clearer protocols for responding to concealed or late disclosed pregnancies
• Trauma informed practice, to help reach families who do not engage with services, recognising that avoidance of services often reflects grief and mistrust rather than deliberate refusal
• Better engagement with and support for parents before and after child removal, to help break cycles of harm and reduce repeat risk
• A preventative ‘Think Family’ approach, bringing together adult and children’s services to provide a holistic view and identify issues that affect the whole family unit
• Stronger links between children’s social care and offender management services, especially when serious sex offenders are parents or carers
• Clearer arrangements when families move, including formal information transfer, shared chronologies and defined safeguarding responsibility

The review finds that agencies are often aware of multiple risks within families such as domestic abuse or parental disengagement but do not always assess and manage these risks together. It warns that without stronger coordination, opportunities to protect vulnerable unborn babies and infants can be missed.

The report calls on government to act urgently to strengthen national guidance, improve information sharing between agencies, and ensure that professionals have the time, skills and support needed to safeguard unborn babies and infants effectively.

1. Ofsted launched children's social care survey
Ofsted, on Monday 02 February, issued its annual children’s social care survey for the following social care providers:

• residential special schools
• further education colleges with residential provision
• children’s homes (includes secure children’s homes and residential special schools registered as children’s homes)
• fostering agencies (includes independent fostering agencies and local authority fostering services)
• adoption agencies (includes voluntary adoption agencies and regional adoption agencies)
• adoption support agencies
• residential family centres
• boarding schools
• supported accommodation

Ofsted highly value the responses they receive. They help to both inform future inspections and build a national picture of people’s experiences with their respective providers. They have a blog post explaining how the responses are used.

The survey will close on 22 March 2026.

2. Social work students to receive targeted financial support, under plans set out in a consultation launched by the government.
Social work students will receive more targeted financial support where there is the greatest need, including those from low-income backgrounds, under plans set out in a consultation announced by the government.
It will seek feedback from universities, social work students, social workers, local authorities and NHS trusts to maximise the effectiveness of the existing Social Work Bursary (SWB) and the Education Support Grant (ESB).

Together, these provide £50 million annually to support social work students and have provided support since 2003. However, uptake of the Social Work Bursary has declined in recent years, with around 1,500 unclaimed bursaries in 2024-25 out of the 4,000 available.

These proposed changes will bring down barriers and aim to improve access to a vital career.

Currently, the Social Work Bursary provides support to undergraduates who receive around £4,900 and postgraduates who receive around £11,300 and the Education Support Grant contributes to the costs of practice placements, where students gain hands-on experience. Bursaries or grants do not need to be paid back, unlike student loans.

Through the 10 Year Health Plan the government is shifting more care out of hospital and into the community and social workers will play a vital role in this shift, as part of Neighbourhood Health Services.

3. The government is launching a consultation on extending smoke-free places and introducing vape-free and heated tobacco-free spaces.
The government has launched a public consultation to seek views on stopping people smoking, vaping or using heated tobacco in public playgrounds and education settings in England.

Areas outside healthcare locations - such as hospitals - would also become smoke-free and heated tobacco-free under the proposals.

Indoor spaces, where smoking is already banned, would also become vape-free and heated tobacco-free, subject to consultation.

Outdoor hospitality settings, including pub gardens and open public spaces, are not included in the proposals. Private homes and private outdoor spaces are also out of scope. 

These proposals form part of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan to shift the focus of the NHS from sickness to prevention, tackling the root causes of ill health and reducing long-term pressure on services.

Second-hand smoke is harmful even outdoors, with children and medically vulnerable people at greatest risk. By acting in places where young people gather and patients receive care, the government aims to prevent avoidable harm before it happens and support a healthier generation.

This consultation marks an important step towards implementing the landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will create a smoke-free generation and protect young people from a lifetime of addiction. The bill is currently progressing through Parliament.

There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke, and children, pregnant women and people with underlying health conditions are particularly vulnerable.

Short-term exposure can cause immediate symptoms such as eye irritation, coughing and headaches, while long-term exposure significantly increases the risk of chronic disease. 

The Consultation closes 8 May 2026.

Ofcom and all Online Safety

1. Almost all young Brits use AI – more than half say it makes life better
Research for Safer Internet Day 2026 reveals 60% of teens worry about AI being used to make inappropriate pictures of them.

Nearly all young people aged 8 to 17 (97%) are now using artificial intelligence (AI) tools with (58%) saying that AI makes their lives better, but 60% are concerned about someone using AI to make inappropriate pictures of them.

The research, carried out for Safer Internet Day (10th February 2026) by Nominet – the UK registry and the UK Safer Internet Centre, polled 2000 young people (aged 8 to 17 years old) and 2000 parents and carers across the UK with questions about their attitude to the fast-evolving world of AI. This year, Safer Internet Day aims to start conversations about the safe and responsible use of AI, giving young people a voice in creating a safer environment for all online.

According to the research, 71% of young people say AI saves them a lot of time, while a growing number are using it for help and support, with 64% agreeing that AI is the best way to get advice quickly. Currently, 41% teens feel like people their age are relying heavily on AI for emotional support or help with emotional issues, while most one in seven (14%) say they use AI tools to discuss things they don’t feel they can talk to anyone else about.

Both young people and their parents identify issues related to the rapid growth of AI – with a third of parents and carers (33%) saying they are concerned about its impact on their children’s thinking and learning development. Nearly half of young people (49%) say that AI is making people their age less creative, while 35% say it has made them less creative personally.

When it comes to their studies, 73% of young people find AI useful and 54% said they use it to help with homework or studying. However, half (50%) of children say they’ve seen others their age using AI to do their school or homework for them. At the same time just 31% of parents believed their children were using AI to help with homework.

A detailed look into this year’s Safer Internet Day report is available here

2. Businesses urged to “lock the door” on cyber criminals as new government campaign launches
Business owners are being urged to “lock the door” on criminals as the UK government launches a new campaign to provide practical ways for organisations to protect themselves from common online threats.
Appearing across social media, podcasts, radio and business networks, the campaign aims to reach busy small and medium sized businesses where they are. It will encourage them to engage with the government’s Cyber Essentials scheme which sets out clear practical steps they can take to protect themselves from the most common cyber attacks. This includes keeping software up to date and controlling who has access to accounts and data to immediately boost their cyber resilience. Many cyber incidents exploit these basic weaknesses, which Cyber Essentials is designed to protect against.

It comes as new figures show the scale of threat facing businesses. Significant cyber incidents cost an average of £195,000 and half of all small businesses have suffered a cyber breach or attack in the last 12 months.

Last year, 92% fewer insurance claims were made by organisations with Cyber Essentials in place – proving it works. Certification can also help businesses win government contracts, and eligible firms can access free cyber insurance, including a 24/7 emergency helpline, provided by the Cyber Essentials delivery partner.

With cyber threats estimated to cost UK businesses £14.71 billion every year the campaign will help to protect the growth that’s fundamental to job creation, improving living standards and the funding of public services.

Developed by experts at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), Cyber Essentials focuses on 5 key protections:

• firewalls
• secure configuration
• software updates
• user access control
• malware protection

It gives businesses clear, practical steps to follow helping them show customers and suppliers they take cyber security seriously.

New research published also reveals the scale of the cyber threat facing UK businesses more broadly. The Cyber Security Longitudinal Survey shows 82% of medium and large businesses suffered a cyber incident in the past year – meaning no business, regardless of size, is out of reach from cyber criminals.

More organisations are recognising the benefits of taking action. Adoption of Cyber Essentials among larger companies has risen from 23% to 30%, reflecting a growing understanding of the need for basic cyber protections.

With uptake improving among larger firms, there is clear momentum but more still needs to be done. This campaign is targeted at smaller businesses, encouraging them to adopt baseline protections like Cyber Essentials, strengthening supply chain security while supporting SME resilience, continuity, and long term growth.

Alongside this campaign, the government is strengthening cyber resilience across the economy through the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill. The Bill will update and strengthen the UK’s cyber resilience framework for essential and digital services and key suppliers, helping protect the services people rely on every day, from energy and water to healthcare and data centres. Stronger defences throughout supply chains will reduce the risk of disruption from cyber attacks and help keep vital services running.

More information is available at the Cyber Essentials website.

3. Ofcom has today fined porn company 8579 LLC £1.35 million for not having age checks in place, plus £50,000 for failing to respond to an information request.
Under the UK’s Online Safety Act, sites that allow pornographic material must use highly effective age assurance to prevent children from readily accessing that content.
Within days of this duty coming into force in July 2025, Ofcom launched investigations into the providers of dozens of adult sites, including 8579 Limited Liability Companies (LLC). These websites were prioritised based on their user numbers.

‘’Following investigation, we have fined 8579 LLC £1.35 million for failing to comply with these age check requirements. The company must immediately implement highly effective age assurance or face a daily penalty of £1,000.’’

Gathering accurate information from companies is fundamental to our job of making life safer online for people in the UK. These requests can help us to assess and monitor industry compliance with their safety duties, and firms are required, by law, to respond in an accurate, complete and timely way.

For failing to abide by these requirements, we have also fined 8579 LLC £50,000. We will impose a daily penalty of £250 on the company until it responds, or for 60 days, whichever is sooner.

1. Survivor of female genital mutilation urges criminal justice leaders to break down barriers to reporting
Huja (not her real name) a survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM), has spoken directly to police, prosecutors and government officials about the urgent need to improve justice and support for victims of ‘honour’-based abuse (HBA).

‘Cut’ at three months old in The Gambia, Huja told delegates at the national multi-agency ‘Honour’-Based Abuse conference – hosted by the Crown Prosecution Service, the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council – how these forms of abuse can cause lifelong physical and psychological harm to women and girls.

‘’We are clear that FGM is illegal in England and Wales and has no medical benefit, and yet victims often do not recognise what has happened to them as a crime. Cultural acceptance, fear of ostracism and lack of awareness of the law remain major barriers to reporting.’’

'Honour’-Based Abuse sees victims suffering devastating crimes such as domestic or sexual abuse, forced marriage or FGM, often at the hands of their own families, extended families, or members of their community.
CPS data shows that a during the 12 months ending September 2025 charges were authorised against 114 suspects flagged the ‘honour-based’ abuse monitoring flag.

These crimes remain underreported to authorities.

Today, Huja called for unity amongst those working to tackle HBA. She says, “Communities and professionals need to work together to ensure that survivors reach support and education is the only way that we will achieve long lasting change. It is essential that we support charities such as Sundial Centre for Education on Harmful Practices to help schools and professionals with learning on sensitive issues and safeguard girls at risk.

Police, prosecutors and specialist services at the conference were urged to put learning into practice and recognise the complex pressures victims face to support them through all available options, not only criminal justice routes.

By strengthening this joint approach, agencies aim to build confidence for survivors like Huja* to come forward, bring more abusers to justice and contribute to the government’s commitment to halve violence against women and girls within the next decade.

2. Government to cover travel costs of children with cancer
Children with cancer will have their travel costs paid for, with a new government support package worth up to £10 million a year.
For every parent of a child with cancer, each day presents real challenges, not only in confronting the disease itself, but also in managing the considerable demands and costs associated with transporting their child for specialist treatment.

More than a third of these families must travel over an hour to reach hospital. There are 13 expert centres caring for children with cancer across England, with many young patients and their families face long and frequent journeys, sometimes several times a week, over many months or even years.

The financial burden can be significant, with petrol costs, train fares and lost earnings making an already difficult time, even harder. For some families, it could mean money that means heating their home for fewer hours, or going without fresh, nutritious food at dinner time. These are choices no parent should ever be forced to make.

This commitment sits alongside decisive action to transform cancer care for children and young people; including improving hospital food, ensuring medical psychosocial care during treatment, expanding genomic testing, and detecting cancers earlier when treatment is most effective.

The upcoming national NHS food standards review will ensure young cancer patients have access to high-quality, child-friendly food, including outside mealtimes.

The government will also improve the experience of those children who have to stay in hospital. The NHS and Starlight’s Play Well toolkit will help services deliver high-quality play provision for children, while youth support coordinators will help teenagers and young adults with education, emotional support and fertility concerns.

Furthermore, mental health support will be standardised for all young cancer patients during diagnosis, treatment and long-term follow-up, recognising the experience of cancer often surfaces years after treatment ends.

Taken together, these measures will ensure that when a child faces cancer, their family can focus on what matters most, being by their side and helping them get well.

This follows a series of reforms announced as part of the National Cancer Plan, including measures to improve access to specialists in rural and coastal communities, a crackdown on illegal underage sunbed use, improved bowel cancer screening to catch thousands more cases earlier and a new partnership to support England’s 830,000 working-age cancer patients to remain in employment during and after treatment.

3. Children to get swifter justice thanks to renewed Victims’ Code
Child victims will be better supported to understand their rights as a victim of crime and, more crucially, where to get the help they need to recover under plans for a new and improved Victims’ Code unveiled on 05 February.
Many children and young people don’t know where to turn following crimes such as domestic abuse and sexual violence – lost in the complexities of the criminal justice system.

To make this known and clear, the Government will work with young people and experts to develop the first-of-its-kind child-friendly version of the Victims’ Code. This will set out in age-appropriate language a child’s rights as a victim of crime – including the right to be referred or self-refer to support services.

Proposals in the new Victims’ Code include more direct contact with police and probation officers alongside parents for those aged 12 and up, granting them the dignity and autonomy they deserve as survivors of crime, and a stronger feeling of safety going through the justice system.

From the point of reporting all the way through to trial and beyond, a better Victims’ Code will encourage all victims to see their case through, knowing the government stands firmly on their side.

The Government is going further still to make sure all victims know about their rights through the Understand your Rights campaign which will reach across England and Wales to show that the Victims’ Code is there for every victim, whatever the crime.

The news follows a series of key interventions designed to protect women and children from violence and abuse.

These include the launch of the Government’s landmark VAWG Strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, and the decision to repeal the presumption of parental involvement to focus family court proceedings squarely on children’s safety.

Ministers have also committed to review the ‘National Protocol’ guidelines to stop the criminalisation of children in care and remove parental responsibility from people who have been convicted of a serious sexual offence against any child, and where a child is born of rape.

4. Conviction After Investigation into Abuse at Skircoat Lodge Children’s Home
A woman at the centre of systematic abuse at a children’s home in Halifax has been convicted.
Linda Brunning, aged 66, of Sowerby Bridge, Calderdale, stood trial at Bradford Crown Court facing five charges, one count of indecent assault on a male person, two counts of aiding and abetting indecent assault and two counts of aiding and abetting buggery.

On Monday 23 February, she was found guilty of all five charges.

Malcolm Phillips, aged 93, of Tyseley, Birmingham, was also charged with one count of indecent assault on a male person, two counts of aiding and abetting indecent assault and two of aiding and abetting buggery but was deemed unfit to stand trial and so faced a trial of facts. The Judge is still to make orders in respect of Philips.

The convictions follow investigations carried out by West Yorkshire Police into abuse, both physical and sexual, which occurred from the 1970s to the 1990s at Skircoat Lodge Children’s Home. The home was established to provide temporary accommodation and a place of protection for children who were the subject of care orders. Children, aged four to 16, were placed there for their own safety. Philips was employed by Calderdale Social Services as its manager and principal from 1976 with Brunning as his assistant from 1978.

Over two decades, the pair created a regime of fear and violence, avoiding detection for their abhorrent crimes because no one dared speak out against them. After staff started to speak up, Calderdale Social Services asked the NSPCC to investigate the practices at the home in 1994 resulting in Phillips being suspended and Brunning being moved.

The home closed in 1996 and two years later West Yorkshire Police launched an investigation resulting in a trial which led to three men being convicted. This prompted further victim-survivors to come forward reporting sexual offences and physical abuse while at Skircoat Lodge. An investigation launched in 2018 focused on both male and female victims who reported offences taking place between 1976 and 1994.

The trial focused on six victim-survivors and followed a meticulous investigation by a dedicated team of officers who worked closely with them to record their accounts including:

• Reviewing more than 3,500 documents, some over 1,000 pages long
• Speaking to over 1,100 individuals, including victim-survivors and witnesses
• Examining third party material, social care records, and the material from the original 1998 investigation.

Some suspects named in victim-survivor accounts were initially unidentified, which added further time and complexity.

5. More children to be protected from deadly viruses
Thousands more children across the country could be protected from deadly and highly infectious diseases under changes to the GP contract.
The updated contract for 2026/27 – due to be unveiled this week – includes additional help for GPs to save young lives and shield families from preventable illness by strengthening vaccination delivery where it is needed most.

The move should help reduce outbreaks, such as the current one in Enfield, where dozens of unvaccinated children have contracted measles and in the worst cases find themselves in hospital fighting a serious but preventable disease.

Under the current system, only those GP practices hitting high vaccination rate targets earn additional incentive payments.

Practices in communities with lower vaccination rates - and who need the assistance most - are often missing out on earning these additional payments even when they are making massive strides and recording year-on-year improvements in vaccination rates.

At the same time, the UK has lost its World Health Organization (WHO) measles elimination status - after over 2,900 cases of measles were confirmed in England in 2024, the highest levels recorded in decades.

And childhood vaccination rates are well below the 95% WHO uptake target needed to prevent measles outbreaks - and are falling.

The next GP contract will help change this by providing improvement incentives that recognise those practices making progress. These additional resources can then be used to reinvest in outreach and to follow up with families with unvaccinated children.

These improvement payments will give GPs the resources they need to help parents to protect children who are currently missing out and reduce health inequalities that leave some babies at far greater risk than others simply because of where they live.

Embedding vaccination delivery at the heart of the GP contract is expected to increase uptake in high risk communities, helping to stop outbreaks before they start and keeping children out of hospital.

The updated contract will also match childhood vaccination incentives for GPs with the latest national vaccine schedule.

GP practices started to offer children a combined MMRV vaccine at 12 months and 18 months of age to add chickenpox to the protections against measles, mumps and rubella.

GP quality indicators will be updated to include the delivery of the combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine.

This removes unnecessary complexity for practices and ensures they are fairly rewarded as MMRV is rolled out.

Children are not the only people to benefit from changes to the GP contract.

Primary Care Networks will be required to identify care home residents with overdue or outstanding routine vaccinations. The contract will also allow for greater flexibility in how practices collaborate to deliver flu and COVID-19 vaccines.

By embedding vaccination delivery into the contract we expect increased uptake in high-risk populations.

The GP contract 2026/27 will also reflect the extension of the RSV vaccination programme to all adults aged 80 and over and all residents in care homes for older adults, in addition to existing cohorts, from April. GP practices are required to offer the RSV vaccination to eligible patients as an essential service.

A new £2 million pilot will also see health visitors reach families facing barriers to vaccines, to ensure more children are protected.

1. Serial killer convicted over 1999 murder and kidnap
A serial killer who murdered five women in 2006 has pleaded guilty to murdering another teenager seven years earlier.
The 1999 murder of Victoria Hall had remained unsolved for more than two decades.

After a failed attempt to kidnap a 22-year-old woman on 18 September 1999, Wright kidnapped and murdered 17-year-old Victoria the following day.

Wright, now aged 67, has today pleaded guilty to kidnap and murder before his trial at the Old Bailey was due to begin.

He also pleaded guilty to the attempted kidnap of the then-22-year-old woman.

Steve Wright was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, 06 February.

In February 2008, Wright was convicted of murdering five women in Ipswich. He was sentenced to a whole life order.

2. Ex-Council Worker jailed for £893,926 Fraud Against Vulnerable Service Users
A former Bolton Council worker has been jailed for defrauding almost £900,000 in DWP benefits from vulnerable adults whose finances he was employed to protect.
Richard Shaw, 46 from Bolton, spent the stolen funds on luxury items including two BMW vehicles costing nearly £120,000, garden improvements worth almost £18,000, holiday lodges in the Ribble Valley worth £100,000, and more than £53,000 in payments to different women with references such as ‘treat’ and ‘nice’ which amounted to hundreds of pounds every week.

Shaw was employed by Bolton Metropolitan Council's Financial Protection Team, initially as a Finance Officer and later as an Appointee Officer in 2014. His role was to manage state benefits on behalf of service users who were unable to manage their own finances and had no one else to assist them.

Between 5 May 2015 and 18 April 2023, he transferred a total of £893,926.01 from council accounts and the personal funds of vulnerable service users into bank accounts belonging to himself, his wife, and a joint account.

The court heard that Shaw was responsible for managing the funds of 217 service users, 43 of whom were deceased with funds awaiting transfer to their next of kin or the state. He exploited his detailed knowledge of the council's financial systems to divert money into nine separate bank accounts.

The fraud was uncovered in February 2023 when concerns were raised about accounts running unusually low. Shaw was suspended and subsequently dismissed. When his personal locker was searched, officers found bank cards belonging to service users, and a list of deceased clients.

Shaw was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison at Bolton Crown Court.

The CPS will now commence confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover any funds and assets from this criminal activity.

3. Man jailed after being found guilty of child sex offences
A paedophile has been sentenced to more than 20 years in prison – as his victims are praised for their bravery in reporting the harrowing sexual abuse they suffered at his hands.
In 2020, one victim disclosed that Ross Jackson had been sexually abusing her in the Newcastle area.

This then led to the discovery of similar offending against another victim in the Durham area.

Northumbria Police immediately began an investigation into Jackson and after collating evidence he was interviewed.

Jackson was then charged with a string of offences which he denied. He stood trial at Newcastle Crown Court in December 2025 and was found guilty of 24 separate offences including several rapes, seven counts of sexual assault by touching and possession of extreme pornography. Following the trial Jackson was remanded in custody.

Jackson, now 39, of Chester-le-Street, was put before the Moot Hall in Newcastle on Tuesday, February 3, where he was sentenced to a 23-year jail term. He will also spend five years on extended licence once he is released from prison.

Jackson will also spend the rest of his life on the Sex Offenders’ Register and was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and handed a restraining order which prevents him from contacting his victims.

Information on how to disclose sexual assault or rape is available on Northumbria Police’s website at Support after rape and sexual assault | Northumbria Police

Open Consultation, Keeping children safe in education: proposed revisions 2026
The Department for Education is seeking your views on proposed changes to the statutory guidance: Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE).
They are seeking views on a range of updates to ensure the guidance remains current and relevant.

The aim is to help schools and colleges better understand what they are legally required to do, as well as what the Department for Education strongly advise to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

The Department for Education is proposing changes to Draft Keeping children safe in education 2026

The statutory guidance sets out:

• what schools and colleges should do
• the legal duties that they must comply with to keep children safe

They have listed the main proposed changes in annex D of the draft statutory guidance document.

To undertake the consultation and Share your views. Closes 22 April 2026.