The current system for providing free nursery care for youngsters has been branded “grossly unfair”.

According to findings from Scotland’s Care Inspectorate, the majority of care homes with service issues raised at inspection are moving in the right direction despite a turbulent time for the sector.

Five members of staff have been suspended at a private care hospital in Dundee. Castlebeck Care, which runs Monroe House, said a full probe was being carried out into allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

A woman who abused and mistreated elderly residents at a care home where she worked has been struck off by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Shocking inequalities in health and wealth have been revealed by the sixth Monitoring Poverty in Scotland report from JRF.  By Tom MacInnes, JRF

The prospect remains bleak for hard-pressed Scots struggling to find a job, despite a 14,000 fall in unemployment in recent months.

FOSTER care and adoption services in the Capital have been hailed after inspectors awarded the city council its highest ratings yet.

A new report, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) shows that, in Scotland, the number of under-25s out of work has doubled in five years and that a boy born in a wealthy area will live 14 years longer than a boy born into poverty.