Social work bosses are planning to pave over a play park and build a unit for adults with drug and “alcohol-related brain damage”. The new centre, which would house 20 people, is earmarked for Lambhill and would be built just 40 yards from a school for children with special needs.

Council bosses have been criticised for making a pay deduction during a month when staff were already struggling to make ends meet. Around 4000 workers previously paid weekly or fortnightly by Falkirk Council go on to monthly wages at the end of this month.

A sex offender approved as a foster carer who then abused young girls in his care in Aberdeen has been jailed for three-and-a-half years. The man in his 50s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of molesting three children in the 1990s.

{mosimage}After his trial, it emerged he had already been convicted for lewd and libidinous behaviour in the 1970s. His sentence was greeted with a round of applause from members of the public at Aberdeen Sheriff Court. The court heard how on separate occasions he had gone into the three girls bedrooms and sexually assaulted them.

Sheriff Colin Harris told him: “You have been convicted by the jury of serious offences against young girls entrusted in your care by the local authority. They were vulnerable, separated from their parents, and living with strangers, but you took advantage of them by preying on them and in doing so you breached their trust. There is no other alternative for the court but to impose a sentence of imprisonment.”

It emerged he had previously been found guilty of lewd and libidinous practices against a child in the 1970s. He was fined £80 after being found guilty of lewd and libidinous practices. Aberdeen City Council admitted it knew of the conviction when the man and his wife were approved as foster parents, but did not think he had posed a risk.

Better monitoring is needed to measure how effective homelessness prevention services are, Shelter Scotland has said. Shelter’s report has recommended that more efficient monitoring and evaluation is needed as there is little to help councils in measuring how successful their prevention programmes have been in providing lasting solutions.

Phil Robinson, Chief Executive of leading Scottish care charity Quarriers responds to Unison’s press release that it was to ballot staff to take strike action regarding pay offers.

A Sheriff has come under fire for telling a drink-driver to find out how much alcohol he could get away with behind the wheel. Sheriff Robert McCreadie told James Thomson, who was in the dock: “What you should do, and the information is freely available on the internet, is find out how many bottles of beer you can drink and safely go on to drive.

A health board has decided to extend its no smoking policy to include all its grounds. NHS Highland said some staff issues had still to be “ironed out” before the expanded ban could be rolled out. Chairman Garry Coutts said the board could not be seen to be supporting smoking on its property.

A surgeon is to stand for the Scottish Parliament in protest at National Health Service changes. David Smith, who is targeting Glasgow Cathcart as an independent, is demanding better healthcare provision across the south of Glasgow.

An ambulance worker sacked for sending paramedics to pick up her drunken boss from a nightclub said yesterday she had rejected a £50,000 out-of-court settlement. Margaret Gokce is instead taking legal action against the Scottish Ambulance Service, citing unfair dismissal, after a three-year battle to clear her name.

A former nanny says she has been refused permission to adopt a child because she is overweight. Gillian Vose, 42, said social services rejected her application because her weight – she weighs 20 stone (127kg) and is 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall – meant she would not be able to cope with the child concerned.