The head of a powerful construction consortium has warned the Office of Government Commerce that plans to reform the Private Finance Initiative are flawed.
The 'bonfire of the quangos' in Wales is likely to weaken staff morale and could affect performance during the transition period, according to the chair of one of the bodies facing abolition.
Councils need to focus on building up effective relationships with their partners as 'new localism' plans move forward over the next few months, according to the Improvement and Development Agency.
Inspectors at the Health and Safety Executive have delivered an overwhelming vote of no confidence in their management board as it prepares to tighten the criteria for accident investigations.
Senior civil servants will be able to gain a professional finance qualification within two years under a fast-track scheme launched this week by CIPFA and Warwick Business School.
The forthcoming green paper on adult social care will tackle older people's reluctance to take responsibility for their own provision, senior ministers said this week.
The Local Government Association is preparing to slash funding to its central bodies by 4.1% next year in advance of what is expected to be a tight finance settlement in November.
Home Secretary David Blunkett has rejected radical proposals to 'regionalise' the police service and grant district councils funding powers to 'buy' officers, Public Finance has learned.
Collective choice, co-payments and targeted procurement are likely to be at the heart of Labour's next manifesto, according to a former Cabinet minister close to Blairite thinking.
Local government leaders are to step up their campaign for more government cash in November's revenue support grant settlement, as ministers indicate that they will be looking for average council tax...
Reforming council tax and equalising the balance of funding would be priorities for a first-term Conservative administration, according to the shadow local government secretary Caroline Spelman.
Scotland's new finance minister, Tom McCabe, has dismissed comparisons with England on efficiency in government, saying the targets set are 'appropriate for Scotland' irrespective of the figures for...
Audit Scotland has clashed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) over the spending watchdog's claim that more than £170m of public money is being lost through non-payment and...
Housing associations have been warned to expect even closer scrutiny of their costs as the Housing Corporation embarks on light-touch regulation for some landlords.
Students will not apply for university places until they know their A-level results under proposed radical changes to higher education access backed by the government.
Audit Commission chief executive Steve Bundred believes CIPFA's proposed merger would help restore public confidence in the profession following a series of scandals.
The Local Government Association has pledged that poor or weak performing councils will be a thing of the past by 2007 as part of a bold bargaining agenda to extract more freedoms from Whitehall.
Whitehall is to devolve decision-making to local authorities in nine pilot areas from next year in the first tangible example of the government's commitment to localism.
Whitehall's ability to deliver £21.5bn-worth of savings targeted in Sir Peter Gershon's efficiency review came under renewed doubt this week following a damning report on public sector procurement.
Council leaders claimed this week that major reform of the local government finance system could be 'kicked into the long grass' as ministers announced a further inquiry after the 15-month Balance of...
A national 'pay-as-you-drive' scheme to fund Britain's roads could replace a combination of road, vehicle licensing and fuel taxes within two decades, the government has announced.
NHS trusts have made only limited progress in reducing hospital-acquired infections over the past four years, despite the high profile given to the issue, government auditors have said.
