What’s the root cause of #localgov financial difficulties?

The catastrophic failure of national govt to fund councils to deliver services they are legally (& morally) required to.

Adults/children’s social care; homelessness & SEN have biggest chasms between demand & resource.

The Guardian view on Sure Start’s success: Labour should see latest findings as an opportunity | Editorial theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

If what is done locally is an important part of what government does - which it is.

Then how children's and adult social care are delivered are should be treated importantly.

Occasionally adult social care reaches the top level of politics. Children's social care rarely does.

Who is it that talks about the UK as a health service with an armed forces attached or something similar...?

This and the replies are good.

From a children's sector perspective I worry that

1. In the debate about children's mental health the solutions aren't proportionate to the scale of the problem.

2. Lots of well meaning people have a blind spot on phones because it feels too big