I was born into a generation when few people had joint bank accounts and in many homes the Father figure would hand over a sum of money each week to his partner in order for the family to eat and pay the household bills. It was a bonus if the main wage earner took responsibility for ensuring the rent or mortgage was paid. This left many families dependent on their Mothers for financial organisation as well as eating and being clothed. In some cases these same matriarchal figures would also use some of the time they had each week to earn a little bit extra to help eke out the housekeeping. It was not uncommon for household incomes to be reduced such as during the four and three day week disputes in the mid 1970’s. In these times either the second earner took on extra hours or else she worked a lot harder to make the smaller sum stretch as far as possible. Sadly in some homes the main wage earner either because of their own sense of impotence or because they genuinely did not understand how finely tuned the household budget was, would get angry because the meals were not up to their normal standards. In other homes the parents realised that they could not prevent the shared pain altogether but they nevertheless worked together to find ways of reducing its impact. I am very grateful that this was the sort of home I came from.

Todays news that the cost of Adult Social Care has increased substantially and that demand has also seen a huge rise means that if this was one of those family scenarios the parents would need to discuss how best to make ends meet. Can we reduce the cost of the care, can we do something to lessen demand, beyond what has happened already, or is it possible to increase the income stream in some way. What appears to be emenanting from Whitehall is that it has given out the housekeeping and now concerned that the money has all been spent, before the week is over! The problem with this sort of conflict between local and Central Government apart from the obvious risk that one side or the other may say or do something destructive is that the taxpayers get confused and in time lose confidence in both the local County Council and the Government itself. This reduces the prospect of these people voting for any of the parties that appear to be the cause of much of the tension.

The way out of what is an incredibly difficult set of circumstances for all of us in the UK is for Westminster to understand that its role is to work in partnership with local Government in a manner that transcends any Party colours and political ideologies. All of the people dependent on these services need to be treated with great dignity. It is clear that our national finances are not in a great shape, which actually demands more cooperation from those responsible for public services, not less. If that is not forthcoming potentially all of these levels of Government will fail to impress. Blame is not an attractive quality, despite the instincts of these tribal politicians.