Application materials are now available for the fifth funding round of the vcashpoint scheme. Grants are awarded to young people in England, aged between 16 and 25, to set up exciting and creative voluntary projects that benefit their communities. The scheme has a total budget of £1 million available for distribution, with individual grants capped at £2,500.

Projects that involve young people in their organisation, planning and implementation will be supported. The funding can be used to design and undertake schemes that will benefit the applicant's community and will have a positive impact in the long-term.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 26 January 2009.

Responses to policing consultation show widespread support for cutting police red tape.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said, ‘On visits up and down the country I have seen first hand the positive impact of neighbourhood policing and the growing involvement of communities in the fight against crime.'

She added, ‘The public are our strongest weapon in tackling crime and I passionately believe that empowering them to get a good deal through the policing pledge will play a powerful role in driving up the quality of policing for our citizens and in our communities.’

Christmas shoppers in Leicester city centre are being given purse bells and chains to try and prevent thefts from handbags over the festive period.

The chain can be used to attach a purse to a handbag to make it more difficult to steal. Meanwhile the bells will alert shoppers if someone is tampering with their handbag.