Features - December 2009

A drama, not a crisis?Ahead of next week's Pre-Budget Report, Public Finance convened a round table to debate the risks and possibilities in trying to deliver more from less public spending. Judy Hirst reports on the good news, and the bad 04 December 2009
Street lifeMore support must be provided to children sleeping rough in Britain. Not only would this alleviate suffering, it would also reduce the long-term costs to the public purse, argues Emilie Smeaton 10 December 2009
An inspector departsSteve Bundred, the man who has come to 'personify' the Audit Commission, is moving on after six eventful years in charge. So what next for him and the watchdog he leaves behind? Editor Mike Thatcher finds out 14 January 2010
A decade in denialThe past ten years have seen the economy go from boom to bust, and the public finances spiral out of control. Tony Travers relives a decade of war, terrorism and financial collapse – and asks, is it time to face facts? 10 December 2009
Dealing with (even more) debt - online debateThe nation's ever-expanding fiscal gap was examined recently in a video debate organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers and chaired by Public Finance editor Mike Thatcher – and asks, is it time to face facts? 10 December 2009
Think smartIn the Pre-Budget Report, the chancellor must consider cutting non-essential public services and make sure others are being provided efficiently – even if this means outsourcing, argues Jon Sibson 04 December 2009

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