The Flexible New Deal back-to-work schemes will continue to focus on people who have been out of work for a long time despite rising unemployment, the employment minister has told MPs
The British Council, which promotes English language and culture across the globe, has been criticised for a reform programme that is harming services, staff morale and income
Local variation in state-supported care for older people should be replaced by a national framework setting out minimum entitlements, according to a landmark report into the future of social care
The failings of the housing finance system must not be used by local authority landlords as an excuse for poor performance, the head of the new tenants’ watchdog said this week
NHS organisations were struggling to assess the impact of new funding arrangements this week, as the long-delayed primary care trust allocations and operating framework were finally published
The government’s work-focused anti-poverty drive could be derailed by rising unemployment as the economy worsens, a group of social policy experts have warned
MSPs on an influential parliamentary committee have hit out at the ‘excessive bonuses’ and pay-offs for public body chiefs at a time when frontline staff were entitled only to inflation-...
The NHS must ‘do efficiency like never before’ to cope with the coming funding squeeze, the Department of Health’s director general of NHS finance, performance and operations has...
Housing stock transfers are continuing to raise money for regeneration and allow housing associations to tackle crime and other social problems, the National Housing Federation has said
The independent body set up to examine the future of devolution is to investigate the possibility of giving the Scottish Government powers to borrow as well as control over certain taxes
Money from efficiency savings will be ‘recycled’ into civil servants’ pay as part of a deal with the Public and Commercial Services union to call off strikes originally set for this...
Schools that fail to drastically reduce their carbon emissions could cause councils to lose out under the mandatory carbon trading scheme, a think-tank has warned
The timetable for the creation of new local health boards in Wales will create a ‘nightmare’ for NHS finance staff, the head of strategic direction at the Welsh Assembly Government has...
Local government has embraced the efficiency programme but wants less red tape, fewer Whitehall targets and better incentives to ensure future efficiency gains are sustainable, according to research
A new system of charging developers for the knock-on effects of extra housing should raise up to £280m per year more for council services, says a new study
Many more patients are now taking advantage of centres run by private health firms to get treated on the NHS, according to the Department of Health’s latest Patient Choice survey