Sir Andrew Turnbull, the newly appointed head of the civil service, can take on his job with supreme confidence in one area. It seems everybody likes him.
Improvements in the health service must go hand in hand with higher pay for NHS staff, Unison general secretary Dave Prentis warned the government this week.
Money will follow the patient. Trusts will be paid on results. Hospitals that treat more patients will receive more money. GP-led commissioning bodies will be able to scrap deals with local NHS care...
The Criminal Records Bureau has promised to rectify its 'appalling' service standards after apologising to nearly 100 local authorities that had complained bitterly of an 'administrative fiasco'.
Proposals to set up independent inspectorates for health and social care should result in a less politicised NHS that is freed from Whitehall control, the King's Fund said this week.
The health secretary has warned nurses that the salary increases expected following the restructuring of the NHS pay system will 'not be a something-for-nothing arrangement'.
Public services are to receive an extra £4bn in 2003/04, with over half allocated to the health service, Chancellor Gordon Brown announced in this week's Budget.
NHS managers dazzled by this week's £40bn Budget boost called on the government to trust them to improve the health service. But they warned ministers not to expect instant results.
Local government minister Nick Raynsford this week announced the latest batch of councils to be awarded Beacon status for their excellence in delivering public services.
The chancellor should 'take to heart' figures showing the English health service can improve if given sufficient funding, the NHS Confederation said this week.
The Local Government Association and the NHS Confederation have joined forces to press Chancellor Gordon Brown over what they claim is a £1bn gap in social services provision.
The Treasury has sparked a 'beauty contest' between NHS watchdogs after it suggested that their functions may be merged into a new health service regulator.
Local authorities in Wales have a poor record on employing senior female staff and people from ethnic minorities, while service standards still show huge disparities, according to a compendium of...
Debts of up to £500m inherited by English primary care trusts should be written off by the government, an influential group of NHS professionals has said.
Thirty-three finalists have now been chosen by the judges of the Public Servants of the Year Awards to go forward to the final ceremony in London next month.
A severe backlog at the new Criminal Records Bureau is adding to the recruitment crisis in local government, with crucial social services and education appointments reportedly held up in an '...
Politicians must 'be brave' and admit that decentralisation of decision-making in the NHS could lead to further accusations of a postcode lottery of care, health minister Hazel Blears was warned.
One in four councils has been running education and social services so badly that central government has had to intervene, and more cases could be on the way, according to the Audit Commission.
Chancellor Gordon Brown this week prepared the ground for his widely anticipated tax rises to pay for the NHS, but warned that any spending commitments must be matched by rapid improvements in...
Council tax bills are to soar by an inflation-busting 8.1% on average, reflecting widespread fears among authorities that their budgets are being stretched to the limit.
Health Secretary Alan Milburn has signalled a significant increase in social services spending in this summer's Spending Review but insisted it will be allied to 'radical' reforms, including the de...
