More than 900,000 people in Scotland are living in poverty, including 240,000 children, a study has warned. The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland called on all parties to commit themselves to more concerted measures to eradicate poverty.

Thousands of asthma sufferers across Scotland may benefit from a new three-year project to improve treatment methods.

Drug-taking parents will be asked to sign contracts with treatment agencies in a bid to protect their children, according to new plans. The Scottish Executive move is part of a crackdown on drug abuse, placing more emphasis on education and treatment.

A male nurse left a female patient in a high dependency unit lying on a bed naked on a towel and covered only by a sheet while he took a tea break, a disciplinary tribunal heard yesterday.

A former council worker who amassed a collection of almost 3,000 indecent photos of young children and was a foster father to 60 youngsters was put on probation for two years yesterday. George Robb, 55, was also ordered to take part in the sex offenders project.

A specialist  team set up to tackle child abuse and neglect in the Lothians is struggling to cope with the huge number of youngsters referred to it. The Amethyst team is the first of its kind in Scotland, bringing together police, social workers and NHS staff working on child protection cases.

A Social worker forced to quit amid misconduct allegations landed a job with children in Aberdeen because of failings in basic background checks.

A cash windfall is to be used to provide financial support to “kinship carers” in Dumfries and Galloway. They are relatives or friends who step in to look after children who cannot be cared for by their own parents.

More than 600 elderly people were kept waiting at least six weeks for free personal care during the winter, a new report revealed yesterday. The flagship policy was brought in by the Scottish Executive five years ago to help people over the age of 65 with washing, dressing and feeding at home or in residential care homes.

Over the next two years £1 million will be invested into day services for older people across the city of Edinburgh. The funding will be announced tomorrow at the launch of the Day Services Review at the City Arts Centre.