The Shetland Islands Council has appointed Sally Shaw, executive manager of adult services, as interim director of community care.

THE number of homeless people in Scotland has fallen by around a fifth in the past year, according to government figures.

A progress report is to be delivered on steps taken to tackle health and safety failings found during an audit of Dumfries and Galloway social services.

AN ELDERLY resident at a Scottish care home may have gone a month without having a bath or a shower, according to a damning report by the industry watchdog.

AN investment of more than £8 million is to be used to help stop children going into care and improve support for young families.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill today welcomed official statistics which show that recorded crime fell again last year to its lowest level since 1975.

The decisions made about when or if a child should be removed from the family home are to be examined by the Scottish Parliament’s Education and Culture Committee.