Aaaaarrrgggg! Must be me coz everyone else seems to be reading things into my posts that aren't there! I apologise and assume I am indeed having a bad English day!

Michelle I neither said nor implied that anyone waits for a gay household to become available. The quota thing isn't about placements its about having the same proportions represented as there are sections in the community. Because they do not have enough of one part they cannot recruit any more carers. From any quarter of the community.

Don. My idea isn't that possitive discrimination is the reason for allowing fostering by same sex couples. What I am trying, obviously badly, to get across is that possitive discrimination could be the reason for the shortage in the first place. Like you said yourself, 25 years ago these barriers stopped whole sections of the community becoming carers altogether. When they dropped them what they should have done was encouraged recruitment of carers from the entire gammut of society. What did they do instead? Decide to recruit from specific sections to redress the balance. It just doesn't work does it? Surely this is proven by the shortage. In this day and age of mass marketing and multi media surely they can get the message across that fostering is for everyone. Yet have you ever seen the forms required for fostering?

Yep, you have guessed it. Whole swathes of questions about race, colour, religion and sexual orientation. You know, the type I write "WHAT DOES IT MATTER?" across. It was enough to put me off. I am sure I am not the only one either.

I hope I have made clear what I am saying - If not I think i will have a rest and start again with a new head tomorrow!

Cheers

DtG