Concerns about the twin pressures of rising demand and reduced funding for children's services have been a consistent theme for presidents of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) in recent years.
Total revenue expenditure of local authorities in England fell from £104.3bn in 2010/11 to £94.5bn in 2015/16, while in the same period, the annual number of children entering the care system increased from 27,310 to 32,050. For the time being at least, the trend seems set to continue.
Latest Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service figures show that the number of care applications in 2016/17 has surpassed last year's record tally with a month to spare.
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