local authorities

This report was commissioned by the Scottish Government as a result of concerns raised by the diversion working group of the Pre-Disposal Programme Implementation Board. The numbers of cases diverted from prosecution have fallen in recent years (2006 onwards) and it was felt there was a need to investigate the issue further.

To facilitate this, the Scottish Government requested that the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR) undertake a small-scale research study on the use of social work related diversion schemes by Procurators Fiscal in Scotland.

Research shows that older people want and value low-level support - 'that bit of help' - but the benefits of investing in this are realised over many years, making it harder to prove impact and protect funding in the face of severe pressure on spending.

This short guide focuses on families with young children in rural areas and the implications for children’s centre commissioning and delivery at a time of change and new directions. It is of relevance to all of those playing a part in the commissioning of children’s services – whether local authorities or primary care trusts; private or voluntary sector providers; and those leading and delivering services on the ground.

Care Services Efficiency Delivery (CSED) developed this toolkit to help councils looking to introduce a new homecare re-ablement service or extend or improve an existing service. It has been developed as a practical project support to councils and builds on extensive work done by CSED in compiling a body of evidence on how homecare re-ablement services are helping to appropriately reduce the level of ongoing homecare support required; and working actively with councils to identify successful approaches, learning points and best practice.

In 2009, the LGiU’s Children’s Services Network set up a special project in partnership with Practical Participation and other specialists to work with representatives from 30 local authorities. The project has provided useful insights into the mass phenomenon of social networking sites and the
opportunity they present for engaging young people in democratic activity.

The current Gender Equality Duty requires Scottish Ministers to set out priority areas that they have identified across the functions and activities relevant to Scottish public authorities and then provide an overview of progress in these priority areas by 1 July 2010. Scottish Ministers agreed two priority areas, namely: tackling violence against women and occupational segregation. This paper presents the main findings of a review of key evidence and national policies relating to tackling violence against women.

Audit that examined how effectively councils use their resources on residential placements for their looked-after children and identified areas for improvement. Audit Scotland's work complements the Scottish Government’s strategic review of residential child care services in Scotland, conducted by the National Residential Child Care Initiative (NRCCI).