The home secretary has dropped plans for directly elected policing representatives after conceding the idea did not carry sufficient support due to fears over the politicisation of policing
An influential parliamentary committee has voiced doubts over whether a new method of funding capital projects in Scotland will provide better value for money
Scottish council leaders have warned that they face ‘tough’ spending decisions next year, despite a 5.1% funding increase announced by Finance Secretary John Swinney
The Scottish Government and public sector bodies have been told to show stronger leadership on energy efficiency and give it greater priority at a time of soaring prices
Refocusing public services to raise the aspirations of young people in deprived communities will form a major part of government social policy in 2009, according to the Cabinet Office
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come reveals a grim vision for the public sector, says Tony Travers. But at least services are now in a stronger position to withstand the worst
Taxpayers will have to find £81m to cover the ‘stupendous incompetence’ of the Department for Transport following its failure to implement plans for its shared service centre, a senior...
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has retained plans to put the civil service on a statutory footing and a series of public service reforms in his slimmed-down Queen’s Speech – but housing...
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...
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
A drastic overhaul of the welfare state to increase the conditions attached to benefits and personalise services must avoid harsh sanctions and include safeguards for vulnerable people, experts and...
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
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
