LOCHABER campaigners are preparing to crank up the pressure on Highland councillors ahead of a crucial vote on the future of care provision for the elderly.

THE threat of closure has been lifted from a private Borders care home after a watchdog found that conditions had improved since a damning inspection report was published in November, writes Andrew Keddie.

The owner of a care home where 14 elderly people died in a fire said that before the tragedy he had not fully considered the practicalities of evacuating residents from one particular area of the building if a blaze broke out at night.

The Scottish Government has now published the application form, equality monitoring form and guidance notes for the 2010 Voluntary Sector Development Fund (VSDF).

The cost of specialist accommodation for children in social care in Dumfries and Galloway could exceed £5m over 12 months – based on the latest figures.

CLAIMS that people could lose longstanding and trusted home helps because of “privatisation” of the service are being defended by Stirling Council.

Three in 10 children in Scotland spend at least a year in poverty before they start school, according to a government-funded report published today.

NHS managers stand accused of being entrenched and inflexible, as the future of Glasgow’s pioneering model of merging social work and frontline health care hangs in the balance.

PLANS for five new council care homes – including one in Inverness – look likely to be shelved in a move that has outraged campaigners and will test the local authority’s ruling coalition.

Staff at a residential care home where a blaze killed 14 elderly people could have been confused about what to do when a fire alarm was raised, the owner said yesterday.