By any measure, the rise in autism rates in the past 20 years has been astronomical. Pre-1990 estimates put the number at about four or five cases per 10,000 people. But a study published last year in the medical journal the Lancet suggested that the condition now affects one person in every hundred.

The Salvation Army may have to admit people with disruptive behaviour to its centre in Inverness to ensure continued support from Highland Council. Huntly House has received local authority funding since 1984.

More than 70 organisations across Scotland will receive a share of #1.3m from the Voluntary Sector Development Fund. The cash boost will help these organisations increase the standard and variety of staff training – helping them to improve the service they offer to clients.  

An 87 year old woman died after staff in an old folks home didn’t realise she had a broken hip. Carers thought Margaret Carroll had injured her ankle when they saw her limping.

Scotland’s education system is failing hundreds of the country’s most vulnerable youngsters, bringing misery to families, an investigation by The Scotsman has revealed.

Prisoners in Scotland are to be offered cognitive therapy to tackle growing problems with alcohol-related violence and health problems. The first study of its kind has revealed that two in five prisoners have problems with alcohol misuse, compared with one in eight people in the population at large.

A woman is suing the NHS 24 helpline service for £750,000 in damages over the death of her partner. Father-of-two Steven Wiseman died in December 2004 at the age of 30 after complaining of flu-like symptoms. His partner Kerry Robertson, from Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire, is now seeking compensation.

The Catholic Church in Scotland has called for reassurances from ministers over changes in equality law which could affect its adoption agencies. The Scottish Parliament passed a bill in December allowing same-sex adoption.

A report on institutionalised child abuse in Scotland over a 45-year period has been delayed for a further six months. Abused former residents of children’s homes who gave evidence to the review were expecting to see the results in March. Instead, a new date in September has been requested, putting it a year behind the original schedule.

Voluntary sector childcare in Scotland is facing a cash crisis after the country’s largest pre-school care provider went into liquidation. One plus, one of the country’s largest charities, went into liquidation last Tuesday after funders failed to come up with a rescue package.