Gay couples in Scotland will be able to adopt children for the first time under controversial new laws passed by the Scottish Parliament yesterday. The Adoption Bill, which will also allow unmarried couples to adopt, sparked furious debate in the Scottish Parliament and protests from religious organisations.

{mosimage}Concerns were slightly assuaged by the addition of “a stable family unit” as one of the considerations included before applicants can adopt.

However, attempts to block the legislation or at least ensure faith-based adoption agencies can opt out were voted down.

Roseanna Cunningham, MSP for Perth, tabled the amendment against gay couples adopting. “We have a pattern of family life which we have had for generation upon generation,” she said.

“All the research shows it is the best way to raise children and I do not think we should depart from that lightly. The Scottish Parliament vote cannot stand on its head what has come before and we cannot bemoan the consequences of family breakdown and at the same time do things that undermine the traditional family.”

A pill that is both cheaper and safer than methadone has been found to be just as effective at treating heroin addicts, a new study has found. The research into the prescription painkiller dihydrocodeine was carried out on Edinburgh drug users.

The University of Dundee has launched a new research Institute to look at social and health care issues for disabled people. IDRIS — the Interdisciplinary Disability Research Institute — was officially opened today at the Queen Mother Building. It brings together experts from various fields connected with conducting disability research, to pool ideas and develop ways of assisting disabled people and others who may acquire impairment.

Shelter Scotland, the housing and homelessness charity, is part of a new project to help head off community opposition to services for homeless people by promoting local involvement from the outset. The charity had identified that public perception of homelessness and homeless people has remained mixed, despite Scotland’s homelessness legislation being the most forward thinking in Western Europe.

A top psychiatrist in Edinburgh has welcomed moves by the Scottish Executive to invest £2.5 million in improving mental health services. The sweeping reforms will ensure everyone who works with children has received basic training in mental health issues.

Unmarried and same sex couples in Sciotland will get the legal right to adopt children under legislation expected to be passed at Holyrood. MSPs are expected to back the new law despite opposition from the Catholic Church and efforts by the SNP’s Roseanna Cunningham to block the bill. As the law stands, only married couples or a single person can adopt.

All parts of Scotland are now hitting national standards for the uptake of breast cancer screening, according to health service watchdogs. The findings came in a report yesterday from NHS Quality Improvement Scotland. It also found services were close to meeting a standard of 95% of women being notified of their results within 15 days.

A plan which will shape foster and kinship care in Scotland over the next 20 years will today be unveiled by Education Minister Hugh Henry. A consultation on the National Fostering and Kinship Care Strategy, which includes proposals to improve care for foster children and the support offered to those providing care, will be launched at Edinburgh Castle.

{mosimage}Children, young people and their foster and kinship carers will be asked to log on here to register their opinion on the strategy.

The strategy – drafted with support from a panel of experts including The Fostering Network, BAAF, Barnardos, NCH, ADSW, CoSLA and foster and kinship carers – contains proposals to:

• Give every child in foster or kinship care a better chance by providing them with safe, stable and secure placement

• Allow a young person in foster/kinship care to remain in home beyond 18th birthday if appropriate

• Improve recruitment and retention of foster carers through additional support

• Determine and standardise payments across Scotland to foster carers.

Mr Henry, who will launch the consultation during a reception for foster and kinship carers, said: “Scotland’s children are its future. We want every child to have a safe, stable and secure home environment to give them the best start in life.

When Reece Walters saw what had happened to his research, he was shocked and appalled. He and colleagues at Stirling University had been tasked with providing an independent report to ministers on youth court pilot schemes, but Mr Walters says he soon found the real limits of academic freedom.