The Big Lottery Fund is investing £5.3m in four UK-wide initiatives that aim to inspire and engage over two million people and ensure the 2012 spirit continues to thrive. The funding is being released ahead of the Big Lottery Fund's £40 million ‘Spirit of 2012' Trust, set up late last year, being formally established. The four UK-Wide projects Big Lottery Fund is backing are: Get set to Make a Change; Join In; Pedal On UK and Britain's Personal Best.

Young Lancashire members Marsh Community Centre are supporting their young people to undertake a cycling tour from Lancaster to Edinburgh during May half term.  The young people are raising funds for a local charity, Unique Kids & Co.

CYP Now has published a survey on the future of youth provision, which has 110 responses. It found that one in three organisations that provide services to young people felt it was possible they would face closure within the next 12 months. Over half of respondents said their income had fallen in the past year, more than a quarter said it had stayed roughly the same and 16.2 per cent reported an increase. More than two thirds of organisation have reduced spending on new equipment and over half have reduced staff levels, trips and off-site visits.

Prime Minister David Cameron has launched the new, independent Early Intervention Foundation, which has received widespread, cross-party support. The Foundation "aims to give babies, children and young people a great start, and cut the massive costs of dysfunction for taxpayers." The Early Intervention Foundation has now written to every Clinical Commissioning Group, Police and Crime Commissioner and council leader in England, in a call for them to be part of the first wave of activity including being one of the 20 pioneering Early Intervention Places.

The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has published the latest edition of DBS news. It provides more information on the update service, which is designed to enable a form of portability of DBS (formerly CRB) checks. This is now scheduled to be launched in the summer. Visit: http://seis.purlsmail.com

The public sector trade union Unison has published A better start for young people: the UNISON agenda - a manifesto for young people. It said it was "worried that the damage done to young people as a result of cuts to their services, job opportunities and financial support is being ignored". It polled 1,411 young people aged 17 to 25 and found that only 41 per cent felt optimistic about the future. One in 10 said it had taken them more than a year to find a job and 15 per cent said they had debts of more than £20,000.

The Institute for Youth Work has confirmed it will open to qualified, non-qualified and student youth workers in September. The National Youth Agency agreed to fund the start-up process. Visit: www.cypnow.co.uk

HM Revenue & Customs has launched the new Gift Aid system, Charities Online. It replaces the paper form - R68(i) print and post repayment form) - that is currently used to claim tax repayments. HMRC, with voluntary sector partners, have produced a set of instructions to follow. Visit: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk 

Public Health England has released a new mobile app for public health professionals allowing them to access child health information from smart phones and tablet computers. The child health profiles provide a snapshot of child health and wellbeing for each local authority in England using key health indicators. Data in the app covers a range of issues affecting child health including levels of childhood obesity, teenage pregnancy and underage drinking, educational performance, youth crime and hospital admissions.