As many as one in ten local authorities might have population figures that are flawed, the senior government statistician in charge of compiling them has admitted to Public Finance .
Social care leaders have dismissed the government's claim that there is no need to compensate the sector for the extra responsibilities it has taken on through NHS 'cost shunting'.
'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...
Almost a decade since the Single Status Agreement on equal pay was signed, many councils have yet to put it into practice and others have run into legal challenges and financial hurdles. Now time is...
The Local Government Association has called for an additional £28m in central funding to councils to help them co-ordinate carbon emission reduction commitments, following the government's Energy...
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
High levels of public spending are exacerbating regional economic disparities and leading to dependency on central government handouts in some areas, according to a free market think-tank, Reform.
Councils are warning that they are being starved of vital resources to fund basic services because of the government's inability to produce accurate immigration figures.
The chief executive of the Local Government Association tells Joseph McHugh about the push for greater autonomy and diversity in the provision of council services
Having been quick to judge the rest of the public sector, Whitehall now faces similar scrutiny. And it hasn't fared well. Colin Talbot looks at the impact of capability reviews and applies his own...
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
Whitehall officials must improve the design and operation of the administrative systems underpinning UK services if targeted public sector improvements are to be achieved, influential MPs have warned.
Sir Jeremy Beecham's review shows that reform of public services in Wales is on the right track but needs to progress further and faster. The Welsh Assembly Government welcomes the challenge
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...
Japan's Government Policy Evaluation Act bears a passing resemblance to Whitehall's Public Service Agreements. But it is part of a deeper and more extensive reform to take the politics out of public...
Political acceptability will dictate Sir Michael Lyons' proposals to reform local government finance when he concludes his inquiry later this year, he has told Public Finance
The Treasury is to launch a root-and-branch review of procurement throughout the public sector, amid ministers' mounting frustration that many organisations are still not using their buying power to...
Most of the savings NHS acute trusts have made in reducing their spending on nursing agencies have been offset by increased use of the in-house NHS Professionals agency and their own nursing 'banks...
The PFI faces a combined attack from national statisticians and influential accountancy bodies. There is a lot at stake, including the chancellor's fiscal rules, reports Don Smith
The tangle of performance indicators and reporting requirements that are throttling local government will be swept away following a wide-ranging review being set up to slash red tape in the sector,...
Scotland would lose many of the benefits of economic and financial integration with the rest of the UK if the Holyrood Parliament had powers to raise and spend its own taxes, the authors of a report...
For many young vulnerable people, the statutory sector closes its door on them the moment they hit 18. But thanks to new social inclusion projects, this is changing. Nicola Pauling reports
The government is on a new charm offensive with the voluntary sector. But will all the reviews and initiatives allay charities' suspicions that ministers are looking for public services on the cheap...
