EDUCATION leader Marilyne MacLaren has branded the council’s social work department “broken” amid fresh evidence of it failing dozens of vulnerable children in the city.

SOCIAL work chiefs have defended their decision to allow four children who were described as living like “street urchins” to be returned to their parents.

Aberdeen City Council’s social work director yesterday pledged that dementia sufferers will receive the same standard of care when their specialist unit is shut down later this year.

A NURSERY nurse has been cleared of a number of serious offences against babies and toddlers. Linzi Neely (28) was an employee at the Cherry Tree Nursery in Polmont at the time when the incidents were alleged to have occurred on February 3.

An initiative is being launched today 1 September, 2009 which aims to reduce the number of falls by older people in Edinburgh.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray has called for a change at the heart of government over its attitude towards child protection.

DETAILS of new £95million mental health facilities in Tayside will be unveiled at a series of open days later this week. NHS Tayside has organised the events, at Montrose and at Stracathro Hospital near Brechin, to update the public on plans for Stracathro and Murray Royal Hospital in Perth.

A new programme which will create an alternative to remand for young people going through the court system has been launched by Glasgow City Council Social Care services.

News that the Scottish Government is to delay the introduction of the controversial Children’s Hearings Bill until early next year has been welcomed by leading social workers and the charity which represents children in care.

The Baby P scandal has led to councils across the north and north-east being inundated with calls about at-risk children. New figures from Aberdeen City Council show referrals went up by a quarter last year and the number of youngsters on the child-protection register soared by half in the past eight months.