Scotland’s first minister has warned the UK government that it must not impose further spending cuts on the country or it will seriously damage services and economic recovery.
Adult care budgets are set to be slashed as councils strive to safeguard children’s social services in the wake of recent high-profile child protection failures, public spending experts have warned.
The troubled Equalities and Human Rights Commission has been slammed by MPs, just weeks after a parliamentary body referred its chair to the standards watchdog.
Conservative and Liberal Democrat policies to reduce the educational attainment gap between rich and poor pupils are unlikely to make much difference, experts have warned
Charities are declaring that their time has come, with Whitehall lauding their merits. But, although greater service provision could improve quality, it is unlikely to make savings
A government ‘of any stripe’ should claw back recent benefit rises and restrict child benefits for better-off families to save £6.5bn, a Right-wing think-tank has urged
MPs have criticised the lack of prison facilities in North Wales and called on the Ministry of Justice to adopt a more flexible approach to prisons policy
Local authorities in England will be able to collects fines of up to £25,000 a day from utility companies that allow roadworks to overrun, ministers have proposed
The UK Border agency is failing in its efforts to reach targets for processing asylum applications within six months because of the inadequate staffing levels, an independent report has concluded
The 2012 Olympics are on time and within budget, but authorities need to make greater efforts to ensure the Games leave a beneficial legacy for Londoners, an official report has found
Greater citizen involvement in running public services is building a popular front of support from Westminster to Tooting and beyond. But Jonathan Clifton cautions that it is harder to achieve in...
Although mutuals and co-operatives have been providing services for hundreds of years, they are suddenly being touted as the saviour of the public sector. Lucy Phillips reports
The Conservatives’ planning green paper, launched this week, proposes to scrap most of Labour’s reforms and devolve many decisions to local communities. But critics fear this will be a charter for ‘...
Whitehall is stepping up its preparations for a hung Parliament as prospects mount that no party will win a majority in the general election, likely to be held on May 6
The Staffordshire hospital trust that ‘failed to deliver’ acceptable standards of care should have its foundation status reviewed, an independent inquiry has said.
