With her trademark brutal honesty, she laid bare the chaos in ramshackle care services on the verge of collapse, as near-bankrupted councils fail to cope with the seismic challenge of soaring dementia cases. With all the wars and crises around the world, it was practically overlooked. It shouldn't be.
While the number of children in the care system in England has fallen from its all-time high of 83,750 in 2023, the latest figure of 81,770 in March last year is still 17.7% higher than a decade ago. A recently announced raft of reforms, including free prescriptions for care leavers, will not solve all of the problems. The dire financial position of many councils, and depleted state of local services, have a particularly damaging impact on the lives of those who rely most on the state.