An urgent plea for cash was made this week by Fife’s social work boss following a year where his department struggled with shortfalls of nearly £15 million.

Social work staff in Midlothian claim they warned management a teenager in care was at risk of committing sex abuse, but their concerns were ignored and the boy has since been in court for a string of sex offences.

Seven high-risk patients at Carstairs mental hospital will be released to less secure accommodation within weeks. The patients were all judged by Scottish courts to pose a risk to public safety but have had their security status downgraded partly as a result of European human rights laws.

Charities across Scotland have reacted angrily to a decision by the Scottish Executive to restrict vital funding, warning that it will lead to a loss of jobs and services.

A charity which collapsed last month with the loss of 600 jobs was experiencing financial problems at least two years ago after it was confirmed managers were failing to pass on workers’ pension contributions.

A new cervical cancer screening system in Scotland could be delayed because of security concerns, it is feared. GPs said it was unacceptable that the computer system would allow anyone with a password – including administrative staff – to access smear test results.

An asylum seeker threatened with deportation has been released from a detention centre for the second time after a Scottish businessman put up £1000 bail. Bob Blakey, 60, a building inspector who travelled 400 miles to attend a bail hearing in Bedfordshire, said he was horrified by how Zahra Byansi had been treated.

The woman who accuses her boyfriend of knowingly giving her HIV fell to her knees and wept when she was told she had the virus, a court heard yesterday. The sex clinic worker who broke the news to Miss X said:

Shelter Scotland today welcomed the news that the Right to Buy (RTB) has been suspended in some areas of Perth and Kinross. They are the seventh council to have applied to suspend Right to Buy.

Children’s right to have safe places to play outdoors is not taken as serious in Scotland as England, according to children’s groups. Both Barnardo’s and Scotland’s Children’s Commissioner Kathleen Marshall have warned the government that youngsters physical health and wellbeing could be at stake if the situation does not improve.