Daily roundup: Cannabis, affordable housing and mothers' views on their children's future job prospects

Young people who smoke cannabis regularly before the age of 18 run the risk of a significant and irreversible reduction in their IQ, the BBC reports. The findings come from a long-term study of around 1,000 people in New Zealand, carried out by a team of researchers including academics from King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry. It found young people who started using cannabis below the age of 18 - while their brains were still developing - suffered a drop in IQ.?

One in five 31- to 44-year-olds who don’t have children are delaying starting a family because of a lack of affordable housing, the charity Shelter has warned. The figures, from a YouGov survey, show a 63 per cent increase in those delaying having children since 2009. Kay Boycott, director of policy at Shelter, said: “The government has a responsibility to act now to ensure that today’s young people and the generation after them aren’t denied something as basic as a proper home to raise their children in.”

A survey of 1,000 mothers has found that the majority are anxious about the future prospects of their children and want the government to do more to help young people find jobs. Four out of five feared personal debt would increase and almost all called on businesses to prioritise job creation over returns for shareholders. Justine Roberts, chief executive of Mumsnet, said: "This report paints a bleak picture of the future for the next generation and clearly shows that we have to take action if we want our children to have decent job prospects and a hope of secure finances.”

The number of babies in Fife born addicted to heroin and other hard drugs is growing, the Scotland Courier reports. Figures released by NHS Fife following a freedom of information request reveal there were five babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome in 2009, rising to eight in 2010 and 10 last year. The syndrome occurs when babies are born to mothers who have used opiates including heroin during pregnancy. Babies whose mothers were dependent on alcohol may also have similar symptoms.

The Care Quality Commission has issued Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital Trust with a formal warning, after inspection visits revealed the deadline for assessing children in its accident and emergency unit was being breached. Inspectors found that in the four children’s cases they examined in June and July a 15-minute time limit on prioritising children’s cases was being breached. The trust has been given until 30 August to make the required improvements or it will face further action.