Public sector procurement is set to come under attack from trade unions concerned that too many departments, agencies and local authorities still fail to promote workforce development and local job...
The CBI's discussions on public service provision tend to treat the private and voluntary sectors as if they were one and the same. But they are worlds apart in both their motivation and way of...
Contrary to popular opinion, the government has successfully used IT to transform a variety of services, from electronic payment of benefits to the Jobcentre Plus Job Bank. And the transformation...
'Co-production' is the latest big idea buzzing round Whitehall, with the aim of involving citizens more in the design and delivery of local public services. But, as Vivienne Russell discovered, there...
Almost a decade since the Single Status Agreement on equal pay was signed, many councils have yet to put it into practice and others have run into legal challenges and financial hurdles. Now time is...
Charity supremo John Stoker has been appointed the first commissioner designate for the Compact, overseeing relationships between the government and the voluntary sector.
Local government leaders are demanding an urgent meeting with Education Secretary Alan Johnson over claims that authorities wanting to launch capital investment programmes for schools are being...
Up to 30,000 NHS cleaning, portering and facility staff will not receive their promised Agenda for Change pay increases this year as deficit-hit hospitals have reneged on last year's joint agreement...
The Local Government Association has called for an additional £28m in central funding to councils to help them co-ordinate carbon emission reduction commitments, following the government's Energy...
A senior member of the government's Pensions Commission is set to investigate a £350m retirement fund deficit across Britain's railways sector to help prevent national strikes on the network, Public...
The high-level task force charged with slashing town hall red tape will deliver its recommendations for the Department for Communities and Local Government by December, Michael Frater has told...
The government wants savings, and e-auctions could help to deliver them. They save time, money and encourage joined-up working, if used in the right context, as Justin Pugsley explains
The Scottish Executive's permanent secretary John Elvidge has appointed an external review team to look at improving leadership, strategic thinking and the delivery of policy objectives for the next...
The Department of Health is considering compensating social services departments for the increased burdens created by cuts to NHS services, Public Finance has learnt.
Councils are warning that they are being starved of vital resources to fund basic services because of the government's inability to produce accurate immigration figures.
The proposal to open NHS commissioning to private companies envisages that primary care trusts will be able to choose whether or not to use these services. But PCTs look likely to be pressed to do...
The chief executive of the Local Government Association tells Joseph McHugh about the push for greater autonomy and diversity in the provision of council services
In these straitened times, it is no surprise that finance directors are looking to make savings on insurance. Many organisations are now planning to ditch traditional insurers for a pooled approach...
Having been quick to judge the rest of the public sector, Whitehall now faces similar scrutiny. And it hasn't fared well. Colin Talbot looks at the impact of capability reviews and applies his own...
The government's 'double devolution' rhetoric will only be meaningful if communities are involved in deciding how their public services operate, business leaders have warned.
Anyone who doubted Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell's claim that his Departmental Capability Reviews would be tougher and more honest than many Whitehall stalwarts expected need look no further...
