Local Government Secretary Stephen Byers' promise to conduct a review of the Best Value regime, made at this week's Labour Party conference in Brighton, will be music to the ears of many of those who...
Managers at the London Borough of Hackney have warned that the crisis-ridden authority may have to spend money it does not have to meet the government's demands.
Housing stock transfers have become too process-driven and do not provide enough choice for tenants, social landlords at the National Housing Federation conference in Birmingham were told.
A surprise bill to grant local authorities more freedom to borrow in an attempt to placate unions and put public services on a more 'level playing field' with the private sector will be severely...
The best NHS trusts will be allowed to set up trading arms to sell services to organisations in the public and private sectors, Health Secretary Alan Milburn announced this week.
Years of financial mismanagement and political chaos have earned the London Borough of Hackney the dubious distinction of being the first local authority to face a central government takeover.
The chief executive of a Midlands trust has admitted that patient care suffered while managers put together one of the largest NHS Private Finance Initiative deals to date.
Nearly half of all council services that have had a Best Value inspection have been judged unlikely to improve or worse, according to the Audit Commission.
The government has failed to convince the public that it has delivered improvements in public services, even though public sector managers believe progress has been made.
The proposed shake-up of the Ofsted inspection regime unveiled by chief inspector of schools Mike Tomlinson has been given a ringing endorsement by the Local Government Association.
Local authorities fear they may be excluded from crucial decision-making after housing associations dominated a government programme to provide low-cost housing for more than 11,000 key public sector...
Fierce clashes over the government's privatisation agenda were averted this week with the early closure of the Trades Union Congress in Brighton, but union activists warned that they would press...
The Employers Organisation is demanding a 'joined-up' approach to public sector pay negotiations after this year's talks left many authorities facing a wages bill they cannot afford.
Scottish local authorities face a major reorganisation of backroom functions such as payroll and council tax collection as ministers increase the pressure for more joined-up work between councils.
Prime Minister Tony Blair will step into the lions' den next week when he delivers an address to the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress in Brighton.
Public sector spending on IT is set to soar by 13% per annum for each of the next two years, according to a survey from Kew Associates and Computer Weekly magazine. Total spend by the public sector...
The government launched its blueprint for the future of secondary schools this week, granting ministers reserve powers to curtail failing schools while promising high performers new freedoms.
Labour leaders at Camden council are heading for a showdown with members over plans to revive a Private Finance Initiative that has already been rejected.
