A couple who applied to become foster parents say they were rejected after the husband admitted having smoked two cigars in the previous 18 months.
Clare and Paul Baker were ten months into the year-long process and were hoping to take a young child into their home by Christmas when they say they were told they were no longer eligible.
During an interview with a social worker, 36-year-old Mr Baker mentioned having a cigar at a wedding and another at an office party although the couple never smoke at home.
The following day the businessman and his wife, who have four children of their own, say they were contacted by Essex County Council and told they had fallen foul of its policy that potential short-term foster carers of children under five must be tobacco-free for 12 months.
Mr Baker, who owns a London recruitment agency, said: “I felt absolutely gutted. I regret saying I had a cigar but honest is how I have always been. If I’d been told you needed to be tobacco-free for a year then I wouldn’t have had that cigar at the work do.” At the six-bedroom detached family home in Brentwood, housewife Mrs Baker, 34, added: “It is ludicrous considering how many children need homes. When they have policies like that there is no hope of giving these children a chance.
“My dad was adopted when he was 18 months old, so fostering or adopting was something I always wanted to do.”
The couple, whose children are Mitchell, 14, Fraser, seven, Ellis, five and three-year-old Isobel, began the application process in November last year. During a visit from a member of the council’s fostering team, Mr Baker admitted smoking a cigar at his brother’s wedding in South Africa in February that year but was told this did not make him a smoker.
The couple, who have never been in trouble with the law, then attended a three-day fostering course in April this year.
The following month Mr Baker had another cigar at a work party, under the assumption it would not prejudice his application. His GP had already supplied a letter confirming he was a non-smoker.
In August, as Mr and Mrs Baker were nearing the end of the process, they say they were visited by a social worker who asked whether they smoked. They say that the following day they were contacted by social services and told their application had been rejected because Mr Baker had the cigars.
They are considering making a formal complaint to the council and say they no longer intend to foster children because they are so outraged at the way they were treated. Mrs Baker added: “I would understand it if we were sitting around smoking in the house all the time. But our children were in England when Paul had the first cigar in South Africa and they were with me at home when he had the second at a bar in London. The council have taken the rules to the extreme and wasted time and taxpayers’ money. Paul even offered to take a carbon monoxide test to prove he’s not a smoker but they weren’t interested.
“When I told our seven-year-old we weren’t going to have another child because daddy smoked a cigar, he asked what a cigar was. That’s how much my children are exposed to smoking.”
Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and local MP, offered to take up the Bakers’ case. He described the Tory-run council’s decision as “ridiculous beyond the point of stupid”, adding: “Because of this political correctness a child loses the opportunity of a loving household.”
Short-term foster carers look after children for up to three years. At present, about 47 000 children are in foster care in about 37 000 homes. The Fostering Network charity said thousands more carers are desperately needed. In 2008, 17 000 children were in care homes because of the lack of foster homes.
A spokesman added: “Given that most foster services are faced with a shortage of carers, we’d hope they are taking a commonsense approach while ensuring children will remain safe within their homes.” Essex County Council yesterday said it did not reject the family’s fostering application and was still in discussions with them when they withdrew from the process - a version of events the Bakers deny.
A spokesman said it had a policy of not placing children under five with foster parents who smoke. “This policy is shared with prospective parents during the application process. If there is a smoker in the family they are asked to consider fostering children over five.
“Mr and Mrs Baker have not contacted us to discuss their application but the manager of the fostering team will be in touch with them to address their concerns.” - Daily Mail