Up until about, oh, fifteen minutes ago, the entirety of the Nanny State was focusing on giving everyone the ability to adopt/foster. Married/not married; straight/not straight; living/not living. Al were invited to apply, for one simple reason: because there is a need for decent, loving homes to look after kids that need looking after.

However, that seems to be changing. Because there is to be a subsection of people in Redbridge who will not be allowed to foster, based upon the legal choices that they make.

Yes, Redbridge Council is to stop smokers from fostering.

The council said the new policy was the result of scientific evidence which showed second-hand smoke to be a cause of lung cancer and childhood respiratory disease.

It said young children were particularly susceptible to the effects of second-hand smoke because their lungs and airways are small and their immune systems immature.

Reason number eight hundred and sixty three why the correct answer when the doctor asks questions he doesn’t need the answer to should always be: none of your business

‘Nothing to hide, nothing to fear’, eh?