Scottish local authorities have called on ministers to agree to a budget of £9.3bn to fund basic services over the next year, according to proposals submitted in advance of the Spending Review.
Last week's row over which party would offer patients genuine choice of where and when they are treated in hospital left NHS managers bemused. Few believe the mantra of choice is the key to...
English local authorities collected an extra £15m in council tax last year, but the rate of improvement slowed, leading to claims from private sector analysts that the government has adopted a '...
Patients' power to choose where and when they are treated will be expanded, no matter which party wins the next general election. Both Labour and the Conservatives put patient choice at the heart of...
Finance staff worried about the introduction of a new pay system in the NHS were given a boost this week as an initiative designed to protect their salaries and career progression was unveiled.
Liverpool City Council chief executive David Henshaw leads an array of public sector figures in the Queen's birthday honours list. He was awarded a knighthood for services to local government. He won...
The Healthcare Commission is to overhaul its approach to inspection and is examining the Comprehensive Performance Assessment model used in local government.
CBI director general Digby Jones has demanded that all savings achieved by Sir Peter Gershon's efficiency review are independently audited so that ministers' claims of success can be verified.
NHS trusts that fail to implement National Institute for Clinical Excellence guidance on anti-cancer drugs and other treatments will receive lower star ratings, the Healthcare Commission and
the...
Government plans to end the exclusion of people with mental health problems from opportunities in employment, education and housing should become a 'watershed', a leading charity said this week.
The Local Government Association is to reform radically its member structure, replacing its 'static and old-fashioned' committees with cross-cutting boards in an attempt to widen its influence on...
To lose one key policy adviser may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose four looks like either carelessness or preparation for a change in leadership. Either way, a clear-out among Tony Blair's...
Mental illness costs Northern Ireland almost £3bn a year more than its health and social care budget according to the Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health.
Hospital consultants must stand up to 'bullying' tactics from Whitehall and work only the hours for which they are paid, the British Medical Association said this week.
Talks on a contract for 12,500 senior hospital doctors are due to begin soon, the British Medical Association said this week, as the doctors accused the government of dragging its heels over the deal.
Chancellor Gordon Brown might still need to raise taxes to avoid breaking his 'golden rule' on public spending over the current economic cycle, despite a temporary boost to Whitehall's finances in...
Cuts to jobs and services are on the way unless the government abandons plans to cap authorities, ministers have been warned, as those in the firing line submitted last-ditch appeals against the...
The government last week launched a crackdown on so-called health tourism, unveiling plans to deny almost all NHS treatment to foreign visitors and failed asylum seekers.
Reverend Andrew McLellan, Scotland's chief inspector of prisons, has issued another scathing report on Peterhead prison, accusing it of failing to address the criticisms in his previous report.
