PLANS to charge for essential social care and housing support services are to be introduced by North Ayrshire Council. The new charges – effective from next April – will apply to care at home, not personal care to the over 65s, day care, disability aids and equipment, as well as court reports.

Three projects run by offenders in North Lanarkshire have won awards for their contribution to their communities.

A CARE worker spoke this week of her ordeal after being wrongly accused of assaulting an elderly resident in a nursing home. Libby Watson wept tears of joy as a sheriff cleared her of any wrongdoing.

The co-owner of a care home where 14 residents died in a blaze ignored fire safety advice in a staff training video because he did not think it applied to

AN IRVINE care home will be among the first in the country to have specially trained Dementia Champions to help residents.

A visit by senior Highland councillors left an elderly care home resident in tears yesterday amid growing concern that a manifesto promise to replace the facility – and four others – would be scrapped because of the recession.

Social work chiefs in Aberdeen have drawn up plans to end support for dozens of ex-offenders in the city – despite fears that the move will lead to a rise in crime.

Aberdeen City Council and the Robert Gordon University have worked together to produce a booklet entitled, Professional Writing, A Guidance Booklet for Social Work Practitioners.

BOSSES at North Lanarkshire Council’s social work department have been accused by home support workers of “ruining” staff morale with decision-making described as “policy on the hoof”.

A SACKED Rutherglen social worker who used official email to send a Gary Glitter ‘joke’ photo showing the convicted sex offender ‘smuggling’ an Asian child through an airport has denied any wrongdoing.