The legislative process needs to be pared down and made subject to 'sunset clauses' if more trust is to be built up between central and local government, argue George Jones and John Stewart
Mammoth PFI commitments appear to have had their day in the NHS, now that the government is prizing competition above all else. Smaller, self-financed projects are emerging as the way forward
A strategic health authority at the centre of a row over whether it was rushing the transfer of primary care trust services has denied it jumped the gun.
Changes to GP access targets to ensure patients can book in advance will fail to tackle the underlying cause of the problems with appointments, the British Medical Association has claimed.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber has challenged the government to make good its pledge to improve employment terms and conditions for hundreds of thousands of public sector agency staff.
The Prudential Code has not led to councils abandoning leasing for loans as predicted, but finance managers say it has freed them to borrow for major projects that will save money in the long term
Schools are improving, but some are still performing well below their best. Ofsted chief David Bell explains how a lean, mean, new inspection regime will sweep up these laggards and help them to...
As the TUC and government square up for their annual seaside contest, ministers face a movement riven with divisions and agonising about its future. Judy Hirst predicts tough times ahead for public...
It seems the 'Berlin Wall' dividing health and social care might finally be coming down, as ministers finalise a combined white paper. But will this lead to a merger of social services departments...
Northern Ireland's health service is set for major reorganisation, following the publication of its version of the Wanless review, conducted by Professor John Appleby, health economist at the King's...
The Department of Health has written an urgent letter to strategic health authorities urging them to stop drawing up commissioning plans for when primary care trusts end their provider role in 2008.
It's difficult to see local government as the stuff of good theatre. But David Edgar's play uses infighting at a failing council to make some trenchant points about democracy. Joseph McHugh reports
The IRA's decision to end armed conflict finally gives Northern Ireland's citizens the chance of a normal life. But this means setting up democratic systems to replace political structures built...
The coalition of charities acting on behalf of older people has reacted angrily to the government's watering down of the Office of Fair Trading's recommendations to give elderly care home residents a...
An extra £65m is to be spent on health centres, clinics and other primary care facilities in Scotland, First Minister Jack McConnell announced this week.
Finally, a hospital waiting time target that should genuinely help patients. But can the tough new plan to cut the time from GP referral to treatment to 18 weeks be achieved? Anthony Harrison and...
Britain still dumps most of its rubbish in landfill sites, instead of recycling it. But tough new European Union regulations are set to change all that. David Meilton reports on how councils are...
Many of Bexley council's school pupils were being educated in huts, with winds raging through broken windows. Then the chance of a £30m PFI refurbishment programme came along. Mike Ellsmore explains...
