New curriculums that give the Gypsies' own culture a fair wind have engaged the imaginations of children who might otherwise have dropped out.

ECONOMIST: Gypsy children

When there's no affordable child care, that hurts children who wind up in second-rate care, or spending afternoons alone in front of the television set.

WHITEHOUSE: Creating the White House Council on Women & Girls

Numbers of the British vole - which inspired Ratty's character in the children's classic The Wind in the Willows - have plunged from seven million to less than a million in a decade.

BBC: Club's 'mince mink' campaign

Noise pollution from wind turbines, free sunscreen for children and more ladies toilets at entertainment venues were some of the other petitions discussed at the morning's committee.

BBC: Petitions Committee