Local authorities face a perfect storm: rising demand for services, chronic workforce shortages, and shrinking budgets. Senior officers must maintain care standards, reduce backlogs, and meet residents' needs – all while doing more with less.

These pressures reflect a national public sector crisis. The Office for National Statistics estimates over six million people work in public services, nearly one in five UK jobs – yet demand continues to outpace supply. The UK's income-expenditure gap is growing, making it impossible to simply hire our way out of the problem. Training new people takes years; too few are entering the pipeline to replace those retiring.