CLAIMS that people could lose longstanding and trusted home helps because of “privatisation” of the service are being defended by Stirling Council.

Three in 10 children in Scotland spend at least a year in poverty before they start school, according to a government-funded report published today.

NHS managers stand accused of being entrenched and inflexible, as the future of Glasgow’s pioneering model of merging social work and frontline health care hangs in the balance.

PLANS for five new council care homes – including one in Inverness – look likely to be shelved in a move that has outraged campaigners and will test the local authority’s ruling coalition.

Glasgow’s pioneering model of merging social work and frontline healthcare to save hundreds of millions of pounds is on the verge of collapse, The Herald can reveal.

The Borders Voluntary Community Care Forum (BVCCF) is currently carrying out a survey of all those who receive a home care service through the local authority, including services provided by independent home care providers as well as the social work department’s own in-house home care service.

Plans to build a £5m care home, training and management hub in Larbert, near Falkirk, have been lodged. Avondale Care Scotland Ltd said the proposals included a 60-bed nursing home and headquarters for the firm.

Scotland’s first helpline for men suffering from domestic abuse goes live today. Trained advisors are staffing the Men’s Advice Line – 0808 801 0327 – providing practical advice and emotional support to men who are abused by their partners.

The Scottish Government has published Care Homes, Scotland, 2009, whcih presents the latest national figures on care homes for adults in Scotland.