A blind 98-year-old has had his council home help withdrawn because cash is to be focused on “the most vulnerable and at risk”. George MacDonald, who lives in sheltered housing at Haugh Court, Inverness, was registered blind 15 years ago, had a stroke 12 years ago and has suffered poor health since he was hit by a car in Union Street seven years ago.

Many primary school teachers feel “uncomfortable” about tackling issues such as homosexuality and contraception in the classroom, a study has revealed. Abertay University found that some had “tinkered” with the sex education programme to lessen embarrassment.

Doctors believe Scotland’s biggest city is set to face a shortage of maternity beds as the birth rate continues to defy forecasts of sharp decline. One of Glasgow’s three maternity hospitals, the Queen Mother’s at Yorkhill, is scheduled to close at some point between this year and 2009, leaving the city with capacity to deliver just 12,000 babies a year.

Some of Scotland’s leading experts on drug abuse in prisons have warned that lethal narcotics are being smuggled into the country’s jails by corrupt prison officers. Professor Neil McKeganey director of Glasgow University’s Centre for Drug Misuse Research warns today of the “very strong likelihood” that the thousands of prisoners using heroin and cannabis in prison are being supplied by officers.

A one-stop-shop – designed to complement Scottish child protection services has been launched today. The 24-hour child protection information line will give people easy access to child protection services and allow them to share concerns about a child with the most appropriate local agency.

A bid well in excess of £100,000 is to be made to the Shetland Charitable Trust to help finance the provision of personal care and home helps for islanders.

The number of ambulances in Scotland taking longer than an hour to reach an emergency has more than doubled since 2000, newly released figures have suggested. The statistics, obtained by Christine Grahame of the SNP, showed that 189 patients had at least an hour wait in 2005/06, compared with 71 in 2000/01.

A second senior figure has announced his departure from Scotland’s largest local authority in less than a month. David Comley, director of social work at Glasgow City Council, told staff he will leave his £110,000-plus-a-year post this summer.

One of the most important messages from the Scottish Executive’s Changing Lives Report is that more of the same won’t do. To enable and support staff to do their jobs effectively the methods and processes used in Scotland’s social services need to be informed by sound knowledge and evidence.

Scotland’s charities watchdog is to investigate the finances and operations of a child care provider which collapsed with the loss of almost 600 jobs. News that the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR) will meet the liquidators of One Plus comes as one of the UK’s biggest charity funders confirms it refused funding because of serious financial concerns.