Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton this week warned that a rise in the basic state pension age is 'inevitable' the first firm indication that his forthcoming retirement proposals could contain...
Britain's graffiti and vandalism-scarred railway stations are in a 'deplorable state' and the Department for Transport must take urgent action, senior backbench MPs are demanding.
The government was this week accused of failing Britain's poorest groups after it emerged that up to £7bn in benefits went unclaimed in 2003/04, while take-up of key welfare payments has fallen since...
Voluntary organisations can reach parts that monolithic public services can't even get close to. And the government is waking up to their importance in areas such as employment services and welfare...
Local government minister and political wunderkind David Miliband has been tipped as a potential Labour prime minister. Vivienne Russell meets a minister who is very much on the move
This week's health and social care white paper promises joint working and preventive care in the community. But NHS deficits and social service cutbacks mean the trends are pointing the other way....
The controversy surrounding the education white paper was stepped up this week as an influential committee of MPs failed to agree on a response to the government's proposed school reforms.
Benefits claimants are being frustrated and confused because Department for Work and Pensions leaflets are written in 'gobbledegook', Public Accounts Committee chair Edward Leigh said this week.
Tory leader David Cameron has hit the ground running, ditching old party certainties for the centre ground. But how much substance is there? Philip Johnston has his doubts
The government faces renewed pressure to improve security procedures in care homes in the wake of the furore over sex offenders found to be working in schools.
Forget the current headlines about schools, one of their biggest difficulties is attracting a head teacher. Phil Revell reports on a recruitment crisis that is threatening the reforms
The revelation this week that more than 1 million pupils are being taught in poorly performing schools has underlined the need for robust local authority involvement, according to town hall leaders.
Teaching unions have reacted with scepticism to Conservative leader David Cameron's pledge that there would be no return to the 11-plus if his party won power.
The Local Government Association has warned ministers of 'potentially substantial' hidden costs of proposals to combat antisocial behaviour, outlined in the prime minister's 'respect' action plan...
The detox diets and gym memberships will soon be history. But for Public Finance 's panel of public sector experts, the New Year challenges have only just begun.
Are Comprehensive Performance Assessments local government's very own I'm a celebrity contest a desperate scrabble for stars and praise or a helpful catalyst for improvement? Phil Swann...
More than a quarter of care homes do not have enough staff and about half do not carry out mandatory security checks on new employees, the Commission for Social Care Inspection revealed this week.
Fed up with slaving away in the background on your worthy but dull project while others bask in the glory of their ground-breaking, award-winning pathfinders? Well, suffer no longer. Michael Ware has...
Children who are dropped off at nurseries early in the morning are being left alone because of staff shortages and poor planning, a senior education inspector said this week.
So the chancellor has managed just to keep within his fiscal rules. But his Pre-Budget Report lays the ground for spending cuts that will leave little funding for services other than the...
Four candidates are vying to be the new leader of Liverpool City Council following the resignation of Mike Storey, who has been found guilty of breaking the councillors' code of conduct.
The new beefed-up version of the Audit Commission should be able to stop other inspectorates from poring over council services if it feels it is unnecessary, ministers are proposing.
The Home Office's finance chief is bringing a professional accounting approach to Whitehall at a time when it is under most pressure. She talks to Mark Conrad
