Local government is witnessing ‘signs of welcome action' from government ‘after years of feeling like we were shouting into a void', the president of senior officers' group Solace has said.
Writing exclusively for The MJ ahead of this week's Solace Summit in Leeds, Robin Tuddenham highlighted moves to strengthen standards as an area of progress.
On reform of the wider public service landscape, he said the push for reorganisation, further devolution and the exploration of neighbourhood health models ‘point to an understanding that communities need to be empowered and services joined up'.
But urging more action on workforce, Tuddenham said that, while the Government had acknowledged the scale of the sector's challenges, staff could not be expected to continue delivering ‘under ever-mounting strain'.