In December 2008, the Labour government launched its grand, long-term plan to strengthen the children's workforce. Ed Balls, then Children's Secretary, said in his foreword to the 2020 Children and Young People's Workforce Strategy that a workforce in which everyone was able to do his or her job to the highest possible standards would be fundamental to improve the life chances of vulnerable children and young people.
Nearly two years on and with a new government in place, that commitment looks decidedly shaky. Children's services across the board are having to make savage funding cuts as the coalition government seeks to bring down the UK's budget deficit. In parallel, the Prime Minister wants to usher in a big society where more public services are delivered by communities themselves.
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