A mother who knowingly allowed her partner to rape her daughter has had her jail sentence increased by the Court of Appeal after intervention by the Solicitor General, Lucy Frazer QC MP.

50 year old Mary-Louisa Andrews’ partner Anoyke Andrews sexually abused the victim from the age of 10 until 16. Mary-Louisa Andrews was aware of the abuse that took place in the family home, although it’s unclear when she became aware of Anoyke’s actions.

During the 7 years that Anoyke Andrews sexually abused the victim, she fell pregnant twice, both of which she terminated.

In May this year, Mary-Louisa Andrews was sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment for cruelty to a person under 16 years at Aylesbury Crown Court. This sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Solicitor General as being unduly lenient. Today it was increased to 5 years.

Following the announcement of the decision the Solicitor General said:

“Mary-Louisa Andrews’ daughter was subjected to a campaign of sexual abuse in her own family home. A mother should be there to protect their child and in this instance this unfortunately was not the case. I hope that the Court of Appeal’s decision today gives some closure to the victim, that justice has been done.”

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Latest information and actions from the Education and Skills Funding Agency for academies, schools, colleges, local authorities and further education providers.

The Charity Commission has opened a statutory inquiry into a charitable fund for Rohingya refugees, which never registered as a charity, after concerns about how it was operating.

The inquiry was launched in April 2018, after the Commission received information from a partner agency about their separate investigation into the fund’s two trustees Mohammed Hasnath and Ruksana Ali. The inquiry could not be announced until now due to the risk of prejudicing that investigation, which the Commission has been informed has now ended.

The fund raised money between July 2017 and March 2018 for the prevention and relief of poverty of Rohingya refugees, via two online donation platforms and through social media.

The fund is not a registered charity but, as it raised money for charitable purposes, it falls within the Commission’s jurisdiction.

The Commission has acted to safeguard the fund by making an order under section 76(3)(d) of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’) to freeze a number of bank accounts holding the charitable funds.

The trustees are also ordered under section 76(3)(f) of the Act from undertaking specified transactions in the administration of the fund without prior written approval from the Commission.

The inquiry is examining:

• whether the trustees have properly exercised their legal duties and responsibilities under charity law in the administration, governance and management of the fund;
• whether the trustees have put charitable funds at risk by using them for non-charitable purposes;
• whether the trustees can adequately account for the end use of the charitable funds which have already been applied;
• the conduct of the trustees; and
• the optimal way to apply the protected charitable funds to support the Rohingya refugees who are the intended beneficiaries.

Advice from the Commission on how to donate safely to charities delivering humanitarian aid to people fleeing Myanmar is available on GOV.UK.

It is the Commission’s policy, after it has concluded an inquiry, to publish a report detailing what issues the inquiry looked at, what actions were undertaken as part of the inquiry and what the outcomes were. Reports of previous inquiries by the Commission are available on GOV.UK.

Ends

Notes to Editors

• While the Commission has been working closely with partner agencies throughout the inquiry, the Commission’s case is separate from any other investigation.
• The Commission does not investigate criminal allegations; these should be reported to the police.
• The opening an inquiry is not in itself a finding of wrongdoing.

The programme, which helps schools to create supportive environments for health and to engage with pupils and parents around key healthy eating and physical activity messages, has been running in Copeland for the past 2 years.

Now, with the help of this new partnership, it’s set to continue for a further 3 years and will support 41 primary schools and 5 early years settings across Copeland.

Phunky Foods Programme

Stuart McCourt, Social Impact Team Manager at Sellafield Ltd said

We are delighted to be working with our partners to deliver this programme. Adult and childhood obesity levels have been high in our community for some time now and this will be a key part of a range of programmes which will address this at an early age.

Cllr Keith Hitchen, Chair of Copeland Local Committee said:

Having seen the scheme in action I was very impressed by the involvement of the children in the project and the support from the teachers. The programme is doing great things in Copeland. I’ve seen the results and I fully support the programme.

Over the past 14 years the Phunky Foods Programme has amassed a strong track record across the UK in delivering real health benefits without placing undue pressure on teachers or the curriculum and now Copeland schools can look forward to the continued benefits of the programme.

Copeland MP Trudy Harrison said:

This scheme is a vital one for school children and their families in Copeland to learn about healthy eating and lifestyle.

It’s wonderful news that Sellafield Ltd has stepped in with generous financial support which will ensure that this programme of activities can continue to be provided free to schools for at least another 3 years.

Caroline Elliot, a teacher from St Bridget’s C of E Primary School in Parton, West Cumbria said:

We are very conscious as a school of the importance of promoting healthy living; this scheme is a very good way of getting the children to appreciate that healthy food is very tasty.

Phunky Foods Managing Director Dr Jennie Cockroft said she was delighted that Phunky Foods now had the support of a company as influential in the local community as Sellafield Ltd, which will enhance the already well-established and successful partnership with Cumbria County Council.

She said:

Rapid increases in childhood obesity prevalence means that we must help empower children, alongside their families and communities, to take control over their wellbeing to enable them to live longer, healthier and more fulfilled lives.

It takes time to change behaviours, and ultimately lives; long-term funding opportunities like this are vital to support this important work in educational settings.

• Social media influencers to meet with the Government Equalities Office to give insights into body image issues
• Meeting comes as Government begins research to better understand the role it can play challenging negative conceptions
• Discussions and research to inform future Government campaign on body image

Body image has become a key concern for women and men of all ages with research suggesting that once established in early life, body dissatisfaction can continue into adulthood.

The rise in prominence of reality TV shows and the increased usage of social media have helped stoke the debate around the issue, with media interest also ramping up around several controversial advertising campaigns.

The GEO has recently commissioned research aiming to better understand the role Government can play in easing the concerns of those who feel unhappy with how they look.

Alongside this research, the GEO wants to hear from key influencers, who remain on the front line of the body image debate, to better understand their experiences and thoughts on the issue. The Minister for Women and Equalities, Penny Mordaunt, will also be in attendance for part of the discussion.

Those attending the event include:

• Kenny Ethan Jones
• Luke Cutforth
• Stevie Grice-Hart
• Katie Snooks
• Stephanie Yeboah
• Abby Russell
• Milly Smith
• Em Ford
• Michelle Elman
• Jada Sezer
• Harnaam Kaur
• Ashley James
• Megan Jayne Crabbe
• Katie Meehan

Further Information:

• The new research will explore the knowledge gap on how body image is experienced by different groups, including men and LGBT individuals, and will look at the relationship between body image and social media.
• Anybody and everybody is susceptible to poor body image across their life. We cannot allow our ambitions to be restricted, current conceptions around body image must change so everyone can flourish and live fulfilling lives.
• The research, along with the views from the influencers, will be put towards a future government campaign on body image and inform further work to support young people on the wider life impact of body dissatisfaction.