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A national study of ageing and HIV (50 plus)

This report contains the views and concerns of people with HIV aged 50 and over, living into an old age that many of them never expected to see. The social care needs of this rapidly growing group have not previously been addressed in the UK. The 50 Plus research project asked 410 of them – 1 in 25 of all those currently being seen for care – for their views on their current and future lives. The report also analysed the resulting data to compare three of the largest subgroups: gay/bisexual men, black African women and white heterosexuals.

Self-directed support (Direct payments), Scotland, 2010

This statistics release presents the latest figures for self-directed support (direct payments). The figures apply to payments made during the period 1st April 2009 to 31st March 2010 under section 12B of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968. People who receive self-directed support (direct payments) are able to purchase and manage for themselves some or all of the care they have been assessed as needing. They are one way of increasing the flexibility, choice, and control people have over the care they receive, so that they can live more independently in their communities.

Review of the Glasgow and Fife Drug Courts report

Pilot Drug Courts were introduced in October 2001 in Glasgow and in August 2002 in Fife. Following broadly positive evaluations of the pilot schemes in 2006, Scottish Ministers agreed to continue funding the Drug Courts for a further 3 years until Spring 2009. The purpose of this review is to assess the impact and effectiveness of the two Drug Courts, including cost effectiveness, in light of the impact of the summary justice reforms.

Resilience and the recession in six deprived communities: preparing for worse to come?

This report draws on some of the emerging findings from an ongoing research programme seeking to examine the interaction between ‘poverty’ and ‘place’ in six relatively deprived neighbourhoods across Britain. Much of the published research and analysis on the economic downturn has focused on its macro-economic impact, in terms of the consequences at the national level on borrowing, public expenditure interest rates, investment and employment levels.

Public attitudes to housing

Paper that examines public attitudes towards housing tenure; public attitudes towards neighbourhood and property types; perceptions of housing taxation; and the implications of the evidence for reforming the housing system to support vulnerable households. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) commissioned the paper to contribute ideas for its Housing Market Taskforce, a two-year programme of work aiming to achieve long-term stability in the housing market for vulnerable households.

Report on community payback order seminar (February 2010)

The Scottish Consortium on Crime and Criminal Justice and the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research held a seminar in Glasgow on 23rd February 2010, to discuss the community payback order, which has been proposed by the Scottish Government in the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Bill. The purpose of the seminar was to clarify the intentions behind the proposed new Scottish Order; how its success would be judged; and how it could be made both effective and acceptable, to sentencers, to the press and to the public.