The home secretary has dropped plans for directly elected policing representatives after conceding the idea did not carry sufficient support due to fears over the politicisation of policing
Scottish council leaders have warned that they face ‘tough’ spending decisions next year, despite a 5.1% funding increase announced by Finance Secretary John Swinney
The government’s ambitious plans to help people with mental health problems find and keep jobs must be supported by a ‘skilled rehabilitation workforce’, experts have said
The Scottish Government and public sector bodies have been told to show stronger leadership on energy efficiency and give it greater priority at a time of soaring prices
Councils in Scotland have broken ranks with the pay negotiating body that represents them to award a 3% increase to thousands of local government workers
An influential parliamentary committee has voiced doubts over whether a new method of funding capital projects in Scotland will provide better value for money
Refocusing public services to raise the aspirations of young people in deprived communities will form a major part of government social policy in 2009, according to the Cabinet Office
The National Health Service finished the past financial year with an above-target budget surplus of £1.67bn, despite an increase in demand for services, an auditors’ report has said
Audit Commission investment decisions were not made at a senior level and the watchdog broke its own treasury management rules, a review of its £10m involvement in the Icelandic crisis has found
Taxpayers will have to find £81m to cover the ‘stupendous incompetence’ of the Department for Transport following its failure to implement plans for its shared service centre, a senior...
Paul Coen, the chief executive of the Local Government Association, has been sent on gardening leave after falling out with the organisation’s political leaders over its controversial...
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has retained plans to put the civil service on a statutory footing and a series of public service reforms in his slimmed-down Queen’s Speech – but housing...
A drastic overhaul of the welfare state to increase the conditions attached to benefits and personalise services must avoid harsh sanctions and include safeguards for vulnerable people, experts and...
The London Borough of Barnet is developing plans to reduce itself to a tiny strategic core and set up a joint venture company to commission local services
Ofsted’s chief inspector Christine Gilbert has denied that the false information that misled the inspectorate about children’s services at Haringey could be widespread
Councils lack the funding and expertise to make adequate preparations against the kinds of floods that devastated some areas in 2007, a survey of local authorities in England shows