Sex offenders should be dispersed into mainstream housing and monitored there, according to new proposals from the Scottish Executive. The draft strategy for the estimated 3000-plus sex offenders in Scotland, which has been seen by The Herald, rules out the creation of specialist segregated units. It also says that councils will be compelled to find suitable housing, away from schools and parks.

One person has died after a fire broke out at a homeless shelter. The body, which has been identified, was discovered by firefighters as they tackled a blaze in the

Two community projects in Dundee have received £475,000 funding so they can move to bigger premises. Dundee Drug and Aids Project (DDAP) has been given £300,000 towards its move to the Old Baptist Church in Rattray Street. The Futurebuilders Scotland fund has also awarded £175,000 to Bharatiya Ashram, which helps black and ethnic minority groups in the city. Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm said both projects would benefit.

A new £170,000 advertising campaign will warn teenagers that heroin is just as addictive and dangerous whether smoked or injected. Hugh Henry, the deputy justice minister, yesterday launched the second wave of the Know the Score anti-heroin campaign. He said the central message of the campaign is that heroin leads to addiction whichever way you take it.

Nursery and childcare workers across Scotland are to benefit from new training, career progression and professional recognition, it was announced yesterday. Under new plans, the early years profession will be strengthened by introducing new qualifications for managers, developing a career structure for all nursery workers and providing ongoing training and development.

Deaf employees could be forced to give up their jobs because of government guidelines that affect their access to sign-language interpreters. Around 45 employees of deaf charities in Central Scotland are worried that they could be forced out of jobs because from 1 September they will no longer be able to use the interpreters that their own organisations employ. Instead they will have to spend their working hours trying to locate freelance interpreters for meetings that they wish to attend with hearing colleagues, despite the fact that there is a shortage of registered freelancers in Scotland.

Higher education qualifications should be on offer for nursery nurses and childminders, an expert report is expected to say. A review group set up by the Scottish Executive is due to publish its findings on Thursday. It is expected to recommend that qualifications be streamlined and improved to raise the status of the profession and attract more recruits. That could see childcare workers being able to study up to degree level.

A health board planning to close an accident and emergency department is running a £8.4m deficit, the worst financial performance of any board in mainland Scotland. NHS Lanarkshire, which has decided to shut the service at Monklands General Hospital, has had a multi-million pound deficit over the past five years.

Health Minister Andy Kerr today announced a non-executive member re-appointment to the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care (the Care Commission). Ms Lesley Bloomer is currently Convener of the Care Commission Audit Committee. She was previously a Director of Audit Scotland, with whom she has worked since 1997. Before that she was a consultant with Eglinton Management Centre, having earlier worked with Scottish Enterprise.

Fears have been raised that more primary schools may have to close than was previously planned after Edinburgh’s new children and families department increased pressure on budgets. Last year City of Edinburgh Council warned that as many as a quarter of the city’s 94 primaries might close because of falling rolls. The children and families department replaced the ailing social work unit 18 months ago after the death of Caleb Ness.