A PRISONER who raped a schoolgirl while on the run was a suitable candidate for an open prison despite a previous conviction for attempted murder and his high risk of reoffending, a report said yesterday.

An additional eight million pounds to develop interactive care services for vulnerable people in their own homes was announced today.

A SCOTTISH city council is facing the threat of legal action over controversial plans to axe services to vulnerable and disabled people as part of a £27 million package of budget cuts.

A FAMILY man who had sex with a handicapped girl at a New Year party was jailed for three years today.

THE number of nursery teachers in Scottish state schools has rapidly declined over the past three years, potentially damaging the prospects of many youngsters before they even start formal education.

Dozens of charities across Scotland working to get former drug addicts and homeless people into employment are being forced to close key services.

Voluntary bodies across the country that provide employability training for the most hard to reach members of society under the New Future Fund have been told that the funding ends on March 31 and, in many cases, will not be replaced.

The fund was aimed at improving the skills of some 4500 people farthest from the labour market, including the homeless, those with mental health problems and drug addiction.

Some 50% of those who went through these various projects went on to employment, education and training.

The national funding package of approximately £3m a year finishes in two weeks and many bodies claim it has not been replaced in their area.

Under the new Scottish Government funding concordat, ministers say the fund will be replaced by the Fairer Scotland Fund, which will be allocated by Community Planning Partnerships.

But many of the organisations losing the New Future (NF) funding say they have been told they will be unable to apply for other funds until the summer and that they have no money to plug the gap.

Twenty-two convicted sex offenders have vanished from Scotland’s new monitoring regime, The Herald can reveal.

An elderly widow showed her gratitude to a hospital which treated her husband by leaving it £3 million in her will, it emerged today.

A HARD-UP council could be sued for axeing key services for disabled people. Aberdeen City Council’s £27million budget cuts will see funding withdrawn from social work and care organisations.

THE political wrangle over the introduction of new home care charges has been ongoing for months but the final decision has now been made.