News and expert comment on public policy and finance

Latest public sector news

UK should pay more into Global Fund, say MPsThe UK should speed up a promised additional contribution to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, MPs said today. 22 May 2012
UK in surplus thanks to Royal Mail pension fundsThe public sector was in surplus by £16.5bn in April, as a result of the one-off transfer of funds from the Royal Mail pension scheme to the Treasury, it was revealed today. 22 May 2012
Worsening eurozone crisis could halt global recovery, says OECDThe eurozone crisis has worsened since the turn of the year and urgent action is needed to prevent it damaging the fragile global economic recovery, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said today. 22 May 2012
Scottish councils 'should be given control of their finances'Scotland's 32 unitary authorities should be merged into just 19, given full control over their own finances and encouraged to install directly elected mayors, according to Reform Scotland. 22 May 2012
Glasgow Commonwealth Games on track, says new headPreparations for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games are on track and on budget, according to the latest six-monthly progress report from organising body Glasgow 2014 21 May 2012
G8 leaders 'want to keep Greece in the euro'The Group of Eight leading economies have said they are committed to keeping Greece in the eurozone and to promoting growth and job creation worldwide. 21 May 2012
Pressure groups call for 30% single tax rateA single 30% flat tax, merging National Insurance and income tax, should be introduced within the next eight years to boost economic growth, the Institute of Directors and the Taxpayers' Alliance said today. 21 May 2012
Childcare should be freed from councils, says MPNurseries and children's centres should be able to take on 'academy status' and be freed from local authority control, according to a Conservative MP. 21 May 2012
Councils slam Whitehall's retention of ratesWhitehall's decision to claw back half of the localised business rates collected by English councils 'falls well short' of giving them freedom and lacks ambition, according to town halls. 21 May 2012
MPs cast doubt on 'risky' child maintenance changesPlans to cut the costs of the child maintenance system in the UK are 'high risk' and could end up increasing child poverty, the Public Accounts Committee warned today. 18 May 2012
£1bn African education aid 'failing to teach the basics'UK aid programmes aimed at improving access to education in three east African countries are failing to provide children with basic literacy and numeracy skills, the Independent Commission for Aid Impact said today. 18 May 2012
NAO backs Northern Rock saleThe business plan underpinning the decision to split Northern Rock in two proved to be 'optimistic' but the alternative would not have benefited the taxpayer more, the National Audit Office said today. 18 May 2012
Whitehall will hang on to 50% of business rate incomeEnglish councils will be able to keep only half of the income from business rates when they take control of them next year, the Department for Communities and Local Government has revealed. 18 May 2012
Unplanned eurozone breakup 'could cost $1trn'An 'unplanned' breakup of the eurozone could cost the members of the single currency $1 trillion, the Centre for Economics and Business Research said today. 17 May 2012
Teachers' local pay decision set for autumnTeachers will have to wait months longer than other public sector workers before finding out if they are to move to localised pay, it has been revealed. 17 May 2012

Page: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [+11]

[ Next » ]

Editor's choice

Labour main winner in local election resultsLabour has gained more than 800 councillors following last Thursday's local government elections across the UK.

Opinion

Instant analysis from expert bloggers and highlights from Public Finance

The IMF interpreted
Ian Mulheirn
UK growth: will Osborne listen to Lagarde?
Tony Dolphin
NHS productivity: devil in the detail
Neil Reeder
Bulls, bears and cash cows
Michael Ware
Scots' skills shortage
Don Peebles

More opinion and comment

Comment

Your latest comments from the PF blog

Comment on Emergency exit by John Tizard
Andrew raises some critical issues. When letting a contract a public body should undertake effective due dilligence on the provider including its...
Comment on Scots' skills shortage by The Edinburgh Handyman
I agree, the skills needed to win a political campaign are much different from those needed to balance a council budget effectively. Being...
Comment on Wanted: CEO for UK plc by Warren Park
The changes in the NHS are now in hand and can be judged before the next election. Some of this has not been well handled, but change in such a big...

More opinion and comment

Configure your Portal

Restore page default settings

» Indicates required fields

Daily news email

Public sector updates direct to your inbox

Name »

Email »

Read privacy policy

Latest vacancies

Hudson: Finance Manager - Strategy
GBP45000 - GBP49000 per annum +: Hudson: This...
Hudson: Project Accountant
GBP29000 - GBP35000 per annum +: Hudson: On...
NHS Western Isles: Principal Accountant
Band 7- £ 30,460 – £40,157 plus £937 Distant...