The City of Edinburgh Council is being asked on 1 February to reimburse older people who have been charged for help at home in preparing meals or food.  Refunds to 820 current service users will take some time to process but should all be made by the end of March.

Over one hundred delegates will be present at the Glasgow Science Centre today to attend an innovative conference that aims to demystify some of the latest learning technologies. The event is being hosted by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and the Scottish Institute for Excellence in Social Work Education (SIESWE).

A new children’s book promoting the importance of healthy eating at a young age has been launched. When Sammy met Sally explains to children in a language they can understand the benefits of establishing good eating habits for the rest of their lives.

A public sector watchdog has warned health officials to monitor their use of temporary nurses. Audit Scotland highlighted the growing use of bank nursing staff by NHS bosses as a way to cope with staff shortages. Bank nurses are health service employees who can be called on at short notice to cover both planned and unplanned absences.

Scotland’s Health Minister, Andy Kerr, has approved plans for a new health centre for patients who live in Renfrewshire. The Renfrew Health and Social Work Centre will unite the two services, following the official linking of responsibilities between health boards and local authorities to provide care for the sick and vulnerable in the community.

Statistics released today show that in the last five years there has been a continuing increase in the amount of Class A, Class B and Class C drugs seized by the police. Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said: “Drugs and the people who peddle them are a scourge on our communities.

What skills are important to the social service sector and how are these skills best delivered?  These are just two of the topics expected to be discussed at a series of consultation events being held across Scotland this February and March.

Housing support staff throughout Scotland will soon be able to support their learning and development with the first national Skills Sets developed specifically for their sector which have now been launched by the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC).

The Scottish Executive has given assurances that adoption agencies run by the Catholic Church will not be compelled to place children with same-sex couples, the Church claimed last night. The Catholic Church added that it would regard any backtracking on the assurance as a “betrayal”.

One Plus, the after-school care and nursery provider, has gone into liquidation with the loss of 600 jobs and the collapse of a support network for hundreds of lone parents. Directors took a majority vote to put the charity into voluntary liquidation at an emergency meeting yesterday.

{mosimage}KPMG was last night understood to have been appointed liquidator and is scheduled to hold meetings with staff this morning where it is expected the vast majority will have their redundancies confirmed.

The closure also affects hundreds of volunteers and lone parents who rely on the organisation for support and advice. One Plus management estimates as many as 10,000 people use its services annually.

The Scottish Executive, which refused a rescue package of £2m to One Plus, is demanding answers as to what went wrong. It is understood the executive has been aware of the situation and believes the financial incompetence of the board of directors was responsible for the cash crisis.

Officially, it has said the One Plus refinancing package “just did not stand up”. A senior source at Glasgow City Council, the main client of One Plus, has also said it asked the authority for £3.5m in recent weeks. The council provided a £700,000 stopgap.