Looked-after children in Scotland are set to benefit from a £7m windfall from the Scottish Executive. The extra funding was announced by deputy education minister Robert Brown at a conference on children in care this week. Foster carers and kinship carers will be able to apply for £2m to help buy essentials like bunk beds, a washing machine or additional bedroom furniture.

A new community centre and care home for the elderly is set to be built on the site of a former Edinburgh primary school which was demolished following a devastating fire. Health and council bosses hope to build the new 60-bed care home in the grounds of the former North Merchiston Primary School.

Education Minister Peter Peacock has resigned for health reasons, the Scottish Executive has confirmed. An executive spokesman said Mr Peacock had been receiving medical advice for a condition likened to a mild stroke. His successor is expected to be announced later, the spokesman added. The 54-year-old Highlands and Islands MSP is married with two adult sons. Mr Peacock said a sustained period of ill health had prompted his decision to stand down.

{mosimage}”As you are aware, I have been experiencing a prolonged period of poor health. It has become increasingly apparent that a ministerial lifestyle is not conducive to either promoting or maintaining my health and following further recent difficulties and advice, I have concluded that I must give my health priority attention.”

In reply, Mr McConnell told Mr Peacock: “I am extremely sorry that you have had to take this decision but entirely understand your reasons for doing do.”

The first minister went on to praise Mr Peacock’s tenure in education, saying the education system was in good shape, morale was high and the number of new teachers entering the profession was “extremely encouraging”.

NHS reform should be based on clinical need rather than political point scoring say Scotland’s doctors. This is just one of the Priorities for Health that the BMA is prescribing for Scotland’s political parties as they prepare to go to the polls for the 2007 elections. Priorities for Health is BMA Scotland’s election manifesto, which outlines the policies and principles that doctors believe will improve Scotland’s health and health services. The report is based on a survey of doctors in Scotland and presents a series of proposals for public health, NHS reform and the medical workforce.

An overarching strategy ‘Delivering Care, Enabling Health’ will give nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (NMAHPs) in Scotland a far bigger role in the delivery of care, while ensuring that caring for, and empowering, patients remains at the heart of modern health services. The proposals in the ‘Review of Nursing in the Community’ provide a blueprint for the future of nursing designed to fit in with the changing face of health care in Scotland. With an increasing emphasis on anticipatory and community based care, this new approach will provide an opportunity to test and develop a new Community Health Nurse role.

A new campaign designed to challenge attitudes towards knife carrying in Scotland – Knives: Let’s Not Scar Another Generation – has been launched. Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson and head of the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan, set a roadshow in motion that will visit areas hard hit by violent crime. In addition to the roadshow, the eight-week £580,000 campaign includes radio, newspaper and bus adverts, outdoor posters and marketing.

About £7 million is to be spent improving the homes of vulnerable children in care and on fostering, the Scottish Executive has announced. Residential units and schools across the country will share £5 million to improve decor and provide better facilities in an effort to encourage a learning environment.

Mulberry House, Edinburgh’s largest complementary health centre, has announced the launch of its Low Income Clinics initiative. Registered as a Scottish Charity in October 2004, The Mulberry House Health Foundation forms the charity wing of Mulberry House.

Shocking footage exposes a care worker as a callous thief stealing money from a vulnerable 80-year-old woman. Cruel Amanda Morgan was caught by a £30 spy camera hidden in pensioner Theresa Fettes’ sitting room. The sting was organised by the OAP’s daughter, Irene Thomson, after her mother accused HER of taking cash.

Social work services are making a difference to communities and vulnerable people across Aberdeenshire, according to social work inspectors. The Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA) has covered all aspects of the council’s services, with most areas being rated good.