NHS foundation trusts have been stuck in the middle of the government split between 'modernisers' and 'consolidators', unable to achieve true financial independence. So reform is urgently needed
Ofsted's first ever finance director tells Vivienne Russell about his drive to bring the standards that he has fostered in local government to the inspectorate
The government's election supremo, Alan Milburn, will reveal the full cost to taxpayers of his Cabinet role following an approach from the National Audit Office.
The chancellor is pledged to a surplus of revenues over current spending in any economic cycle. But with the cycle ending in 2005/06 it looks increasingly unlikely that he will be able to achieve...
The Private Finance Initiative has not gone away it's just adapted to meet changing times. Mark Hellowell explores the opportunities and pitfalls in the new areas that the programme is expanding...
Last week's Budget announced more support for university-based research. But will it be enough to save the science departments that are closing across Britain? Stephen Court reports on the parlous...
Housing will face an extremely tough Spending Review in 2006 unless it gets into the habit of making year-on-year efficiency gains, Simon Ridley, head of housing at the Treasury, told the National...
Government promises of a radical shift towards local accountability rang hollow this week after Nick Raynsford moved to cap nine authorities deemed to have set excessive council tax increases.
People will no longer languish in 'dead-end' jobs, the education secretary promised this week as she unveiled plans to extend skills training across the entire workforce.
An independent audit of NHS progress under Labour has put into perspective emotive headlines about the health service, the NHS Confederation said this week.
The 'Iron Chancellor' believes he answered the critics who questioned his management of the public finances, but experts have warned his Budget might not prevent post-election tax rises.
Unpublished research by the Conservative party has found that rural and smaller primary schools are resorting to 'drastic measures' to meet the national workload agreement, Tim Collins has told...
Gordon Brown heralded root-and-branch reforms to the regulation of public services as he used his Budget statement to announce plans to slash the number of inspectorates from 11 to four.
The record equal pay settlement at North Cumbria Acute NHS Trust is 'unlikely to be replicated elsewhere', employers have warned, despite Unison this week gearing up for the prospect of similar...
Sir Andrew Turnbull has admitted that the distinction made between back-office and frontline civil servants, one of the initial tenets of the government's £40bn efficiency agenda, 'was a mistake'.
They've worked wonders in Canada and the US, and now they're over here to do the same. Nick Raynsford explains how local firms can use Business Improvement Districts to help transform their town...
University teachers and lecturers could be facing below-inflation salary increases following a settlement that increases core funding by just 1%, the higher education sector has warned.