A leading north east charity has said it will stop providing care for adults with learning disabilities after a row over funding. Cornerstone said it had failed to reach agreement with Aberdeen City Council and would no longer offer care services for more than 60 people.

Politicians must push housing to the top of the political agenda if they are to truly meet the needs of people in Scotland, according to a charity. Shelter Scotland will tell a housing conference in Glasgow that politicians claim the issue is the most common problem raised by constituents.

Scotland’s first community court is to be set up in Glasgow, the justice minister has announced. The new court aims to deal with about 2,000 offences a year, including minor assaults, vandalism, some drug cases, housebreaking and breach of the peace.

Only one smoker and one business have been taken to court for flouting Scotland’s strict anti-smoking laws in the year since they were introduced, it emerged yesterday.

Scotland’s strong sense of national identity means its new migrants receive a far more welcoming reception than in England and Wales, according to a new UK-wide report from the Commission for Racial Equality.

Gangs of middle-class children are being blamed by police for disfiguring hundreds of buildings and signs across the Scottish capital with graffiti. Police in Edinburgh said the respectable backgrounds of many of the worst culprits was making it difficult to trace and prosecute them.

The move to improve the diet of Scotland’s schoolchildren has been one of the Scottish Executive’s most important and high-profile initiatives. Keen to ensure that new guidelines would provide a solid base for the next generation, the Executive set up an expert advisory body consisting of nutritionists, dentists and education watchdogs to decide on what food should be served in school canteens and tuck shops.

Police carried out dawn raids across Fife yesterday in a bid to net alleged drug dealers. In the biggest-ever operation by Fife Police, more than 130 cops targeted 11 addresses in co-ordinated raids.

Prisoners who have been convicted of serious assault, robbery and housebreaking will be given the opportunity to meet and apologise to their victims under new plans to curb reoffending.

{mosimage}Victims and relatives will be contacted to see if they are willing to have prison meetings with criminals who have committed a range of serious crimes.

Currently, restorative justice meetings are arranged in the community for offenders aged between eight and 16 who have committed minor offences such as breaking windows.

Offenders are given the opportunity to apologise and make amends by doing community work.

Restorative justice has been strongly supported by Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson and Scotland’s chief police officers in relation to minor crimes and youth offending.

However, this is the first time it has been promoted by the executive in relation to serious and violent offences.

Protocols drawn up between the Scottish Executive, Scottish Prison Service and social workers promote restorative justice for prisoners aged 18 and under.

A charity believes a 60-year-old study of mental health in Scotland could hold the key to developing new treatments for conditions like Alzheimer’s.