Family Life

Children in the South West waiting to be adopted are to be found stable, loving homes more quickly, thanks to brand new online maps which will help would-be-adopters find the child to complete their forever family.

So far in 2014-15, 280 children in the South West have been placed in the permanent home they desperately needed, as a direct result of the government’s reforms to speed up the adoption system.

However, the latest figures show that 340 children are still waiting to be matched with new parents, with many having spent months in care despite adopters being readily...

Devon County Council is reminding people to let the authority know if they have made arrangements to look after someone else’s child, or children, for more than 28 days.

This is more commonly known as Private Fostering and is when a child or young person under 16 years old (or 18 if they have a disability) is looked after for 28 days or more by someone who is not a close relative (i.e parents, step-parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents), or guardian or person with parental responsibility).

This can include for example: children on holiday exchanges which last more than 27...

Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau says average client debt has fallen by £3,000 in the past 12 months.

The charity helped 1032 people directly with advice and information on 2424 individual problems.

On average, clients with money problems had debts totaling £7,334.90, down by £3,182.69 compared to the previous year when the average was £10,517.59

The amount of advice that the charity has been able to provide has increased in the following areas compared to last year:

Welfare benefits

• 131.2% increase in enquiries about pension credit • 68.4% increase...

New research carried out by Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau has revealed that there is a limited supply of suitable housing for students and other private renters in Exeter.

The findings are published today in a new report from Citizens Advice called Dispatches from the front lines of the housing crisis. Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau features in the report highlighting the issues faced in the city in relation to its growing student population.

The report also examines the impact of the development of large student blocks on the rental market in Exeter.

Nationally...