CARING for a relative is a job like no other. For a start most people don’t recognise it as a real job in itself, it’s just something you willingly do for a loved one, no matter the impact it has on your life.

ABERDEEN City Council last night defended its community service team from criticism by politicians. Social work chiefs hit back after official figures showed criminals in the north-east take more than twice as long to complete community service orders compared to other parts of Scotland.

I would like to see Trevor happily settled in supported accommodation before I die,” says Anne Harkes, of Cramond in Edinburgh.

Scotland’s new adoption law has run into confusion and delays just months after it was supposed to come into effect.

Scottish Borders Council has pledged to do everything possible to ensure the welfare of residents in a care home at the centre of closure fears.

Highland Council chiefs have admitted they cannot afford to build five new care homes planned for the region.

Close to 200 children under the age of eight committed offences in Scotland in the past year, new figures have shown.

Council bosses face a drastic ­reduction in services after 3000 staff ­applied for voluntary redundancy. It means Glasgow City Council could create a call centre for social work emergencies and the privatisation of waste collection.

PRIVATE home-care workers are being “exploited”, and effectively paid below the minimum wage with little or no training.

Scotlands top carers and social service projects have been recognised at Care Accolades 2010, the prestigious award ceremony celebrating the very best of the care sector across the country.