A leading Scottish drugs official believes that Scotland can never win the fight against illegal substances. Tom Wood, chairman of the Scottish Association of Alcohol and Drug Action Teams, said education and deterrence should take priority over enforcement. “The message has to be more sophisticated than ‘just say no’ because that simple message doesn’t work,” he said.

The Scottish Executive has signed a national IT contract with outsourcer Anite to integrate its social care IT framework with social care databases held by Scottish local authorities. The supplier’s Swift social care solution will be integrated with the Scottish Executive’s eCare Multi-Agency Stores system. As a result, social care practitioners will have access to critical data from other agencies, ultimately improving protection and support for vulnerable sections of society.

A drug addict who was on heroin for five years has claimed he has been cured by a revolutionary treatment. Barry Philips, 24, from Kilmarnock, said Neuro-Electric Therapy, which sends electric pulses through the brain, had made him drug-free. He said the treatment enabled him to come off heroin in only five days. The Scottish Executive is now backing further research into NET which was being discussed at a conference in Kirkcaldy on Friday.

The allocation of new funding to support race equality and ensure refugees are able to play their part in Scotland’s communities has been announced. The £2 million fund is targeted at locally based projects designed to support cross community integration, helping organisations and communities in their efforts to bring people together, tackle racism and promote equality.

Autistic people in Edinburgh and the Lothians are being forced to travel hundreds of miles every week for day care because of a lack of services closer to home. One severely autistic man from Edinburgh is enduring an 80-mile round trip every day in a taxi because there are no suitable places in the city. The Scottish Society for Autism (SSA) hs demanded the Scottish Executive do more to improve the quality of life for people with the condition.

Barnardo’s will today publish the first long term study of its work with children who have been exploited for sex or groomed for abuse through prostitution.  The study, the first of its kind in the UK, is being launched at a special event which is taking place in Glasgow.  The research found that the young people Barnardo’s helped had often been abused and neglected, but that intensive support could reduce their risk of being sexually exploited and help them achieve positive changes in their lives.

Projects run by Aberdeen City Council and its partners are having a major impact on anti-social behaviour and disorder in the city, a report due before councillors next week reveals. The paper, which will be considered by the Community Services committee, reviews progress made to date and updates members on work underway in the city to combat nuisance behaviour.

Specially trained police officers are to interview pupils at a primary school where a boy collapsed suffering from the effects of the drug methadone. The pupil, aged seven, took ill in class at Merkinch Primary, Inverness, and was treated in Raigmore Hospital. Northern Constabulary plan to speak to children who may have seen him take the methadone, possibly in the school playground at lunchtime. The substance is not believed to have come from the boy’s home.

Housing associations are having to cut essential services to vulnerable people because of hard-hitting funding cuts imposed by the executive. Research conducted by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) shows that almost a quarter of housing associations who provide services to the homeless, the disabled and the elderly have been forced to cut some or all of their support services due to a decrease in the government’s Supporting People grant.

Significant changes are being proposed to the way rape cases in Scotland are investigated and prosecuted. The percentage of cases leading to convictions has fallen to one of the lowest rates in the world.