News and expert comment on public policy and finance

Justice news

Public sector jobs fall by 22,000Public sector employment in the UK continues to decline, falling by 22,000 to 5.7 million over the first three months of the year, official figures show. 12 June 2013
Scottish police chiefs suggest councils follow their merger leadSenior officers in Scotland's newly centralised national police force have angered council leaders by suggesting that the police merger could form a template for getting rid of many local authorities. 22 May 2013
MoJ confirms probation outsourcingThe government today confirmed plans to radically shrink the probation service and provide long-term supervision of all released prisoners, with services provided mainly by the private and voluntary sector. 09 May 2013
Swinney boosts housing with Barnett fundsScottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has announced a £290.8m investment boost for housing plus plans to shift funds from colleges and police to make up for central budget cuts. 03 May 2013
Police should learn from other public services, says new chief inspectorThe police could become more efficient and effective by looking at how other public services have reorganised themselves, new chief inspector Tom Winsor said today. 29 April 2013
Grayling to curb 'meritless' judicial reviewsJustice Secretary Chris Grayling has pledged to stop judicial reviews into government decisions being used as 'a cheap delaying tactic' to hold up planning applications and policy changes. 24 April 2013
Legal aid system set for major shake-upMinisters today began consulting on a radical transformation of the legal aid system, including restricting access, slashing fees and introducing a competitive market for criminal cases. 09 April 2013
Ministers to abolish legal aid for prisoner complaintsPrisoners will no longer be given legal aid to pursue complaints about the prison system, ministers are set to propose. 04 April 2013
May breaks up 'troubled' Border AgencyThe 'troubled' UK Border Agency is to be split up and taken back into the Home Office, the government has announced. 27 March 2013
Home Office flaws 'led to poor turnout at PCC elections'Government mistakes contributed to the very low turnout in last November's police and crime commissioner polls and 'must not be repeated', the Electoral Commission has found. 19 March 2013
Community Budgets 'show potential for pooled spending'The four 'whole place' Community Budget pilots in England show that integrated spending could lead to cheaper and better services, the National Audit Office said today. 13 March 2013
PAC fears effect of prison cuts on reoffending ratesCuts to the National Offender Management Service could hit rehabilitation programmes in prisons, the Public Accounts Committee warned today. 05 March 2013
Electoral Reform Society slams police commissioner electionsLast November's elections for police and crime commissioners 'failed both candidates and voters alike' due to government mismanagement of the polls, the Electoral Reform Society has said. 25 February 2013
UK needs more cyber security experts, say auditorsGovernment attempts to crack down on cyber crime are being hampered by a lack of skilled computer workers, the National Audit Office warned today. 12 February 2013
Call for payment by results for prisonsThe prison service should be included in the payment-by-results system being proposed for probation services, Policy Exchange said today. 05 February 2013