The Scottish Executive has performed well against most of its transport targets but should provide a fuller picture of what is being achieved for a rising, multi-billion pound investment, auditor...
Local and central government are under intense scrutiny, as a plethora of inquiries and reviews get set to report by the end of the year. But with near-civil war gripping the government, how likely...
Prime Minister Tony Blair will next week launch a new attack on social exclusion, extending help to vulnerable children and adults through existing funding, which could be boosted in this winter's...
Subsidies for privately operated bus services are to be made available in Northern Ireland for the first time through a Passenger Transport Authority, transport minister David Cairns has announced.
'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...
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 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
Labour and the Conservatives are both vying to be the party of devolution, but do their proposals include the radical 'whole system' reform necessary to succeed, wonders Dick Sorabji
This week's call for means-tested charges for NHS services is wrong-headed. Such a move would raise few funds, deter the wrong people from using health care, and undermine the consensus that backs...
Northern Ireland Health Minister Paul Goggins has promised to dramatically reduce bed-blocking, which at present accounts for the use of 200 to 300 beds per day in the province's hospitals.
While Labour and the Conservatives join battle over who has the most sustainable policies, public sector organisations are making some serious strides forward. Andrew Ross reports on an issue whose...
Network Rail this week revealed that two of its senior executives were among 4,300 staff targeted by criminals in Whitehall's multi-million pound tax credits fraud.
New transport chief Douglas Alexander might imagine he has inherited a successful rail sector. But Christian Wolmar predicts a host of problems further down the track
Local government is finally getting the attention it deserves, with its white paper and inquiry both due this year. But will anything change? Public Finance invited Sir Michael Lyons and a round...
The Commons' Public Accounts Committee this week warned that taxpayers' money could still be called on to plug financial gaps in the construction of the prestigious Channel Tunnel Rail Link because...
We are delighted and proud that Unison, one of the largest trade unions in Europe, is again sponsoring the overall team award at the Public Servants of the Year Awards 2006.
The current system for funding long-term care is 'inequitable, incoherent and financially unstable', a three-year research project by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has concluded.
Flooding, terrorism and an oil depot explosion have all wreaked havoc in the past few years. So how can public bodies use continuity planning to prepare for such disasters in the future? Ronan Ball...
The latest guidance issued to councils on 'efficiency gains' is clearer and acknowledges the importance of quality. But there are still gaps, not least how all these savings should be measured....
Local authorities could start issuing more capital bonds as an alternative to central government borrowing or the Private Finance Initiative, according to credit rating agency Standard & Poor's.
