England’s core cities have called for decade-long public service funding settlements to form part of Chancellor George Osborne’s devolution plan for the North.
Funding for GP services has fallen by £400m in real terms over four years, the Royal College of GPs revealed today. It warned this had left a ‘black hole’ in the finances of many practices
Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that the ‘crisis’ in the public finances caused by the government’s deficit is not over, and he indicated further cuts to spending will be needed.
The chair of the Local Government Association has warned that Chancellor George Osborne’s plan to achieve a surplus in the public finances by the end of the next Parliament could be ‘very bad’ for...
The Care Quality Commission is to be given ‘statutory independence’ from ministers to avoid ‘political interference’ in the watchdog, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced.
The ‘friends and family test’ used to judge the quality of NHS hospitals is to expanded to other public services, including job centres and further education colleges, Cabinet Office minister Francis...
Mayor of London Boris Johnson has called for Chancellor George Osborne to lift the ‘baleful effects’ of stamp duty on the capital by localising control over property taxes.
Local government secretary Eric Pickles has said he will consider reforming the way councils treat residents who have bought their council house leases under the Right To Buy, noting that some people...
The government will only agree growth deals with Local Enterprise Partnerships if ministers are confident that the funding and powers devolved will be exercised robustly, cities minister Greg Clark...
The government's controversial new back-to-work scheme is to be piloted in two parts of the UK, the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said today.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has said he is ‘fearful’ about the impact government cuts are having on councils, but warned the party will not able to provide ‘easy answers’ on reversing reductions.
Public accounting and audit reforms will be required if moves to devolve more responsibility for public services to councils are to be successful, shadow local government secretary Hilary Benn has...
Labour has launched an inquiry on local public service reform and is seeking ideas on how existing provision can be restructured to better meet the needs of local areas.
Ed Miliband has committed the next Labour government to cutting business rates in order to boost the small firms that he said were vital to the future of the economy.
Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle has cast further doubt on Labour’s backing for the proposed High Speed 2 rail line, saying the project’s value for money needed to be clear
Labour would reform council funding to ensure money goes to those parts of the country with the greatest need, shadow local government secretary Hilary Benn has said today
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to examine Labour’s spending plans ahead of the next general election to assess their affordability
Labour leader Ed Miliband has said that a Labour government would abolish the controversial ‘bedroom tax’, which cuts Housing Benefit paid to social housing tenants deemed to have spare rooms.
Schools minister David Laws has revealed that the government is considering making long-term capital allocations to councils to provide new school places, in a bid to tackle what he called the ‘...
Public spending cuts are going to be needed until 2020, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has said, despite the government planning to eliminate the structural deficit by 2018.