The unveiling of the government's legislative priorities offered both reasons to be optimistic and pessimistic over the prospects for children and young people over the coming parliament.
Necessity is the mother of invention, so the saying goes. It is a maxim that could be applied to most of the services for children and young people today - being able to do more with less is a key requirement for any chief executive, middle manager or frontline practitioner.
The finding from the Cabinet Office survey that total funding for council youth services fell by 22.3 per cent in the two years up to April 2014 will not come as a huge surprise to many in youth work.
The 10 per cent rise in house prices in England reported last week was widely seen as another sign that the economy is recovering from the deepest recession in living memory. Good news for home owners certainly, but soaring property prices are making it harder for young people to not just get on the housing ladder, but branch out into independent living generally.
After a slow start, Labour seems to be finding its feet in opposition. But with a general election a little over a year away, time is running out for the party to produce a coherent policy vision for children, young people and families.
The admission by minister for civil society Nick Hurd that he is still unsure where council-led youth work fits into the government's future vision for the sector is not the most surprising of revelations.
After many months of casual neglect inside the Department for Education, the government last week revealed the Cabinet Office would take responsibility for youth policy.