I recently attended the National Children and Adult Services (NCAS) conference alongside members of the association. This year the conference was held in Bournemouth and it was a great opportunity for us to get together with elected members, directors of adults and children's services alongside our voluntary sector colleagues and leaders, to discuss the pressing issues we face each day. Opportunities like this are rare and it felt more important than ever to remind ourselves of the strength and determination of local government to push boundaries and to improve outcomes for the communities that we serve.

In my address to the conference I announced the publication of the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) policy position paper on Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs), touched on the importance of innovation in sector, emphasised the significance of sector-led improvement and called on government for a more joined-up approach to partnership working.