Prevention is the government's big idea for the NHS in 2008, with an ambitious screening programme, personal health and social care budgets and a push against obesity and binge-drinking. Noel...
Even the most well-meaning and innocent of decisions can fall foul of the law, as the government found when it sent schools copies of An inconvenient truth , Al Gore's film about global warming
The 'use of resources' element of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment has led to a dramatic improvement in council services. But it won't be stopping there. In fact, it's set to play an even...
The Liberal Democrats' new leader, Nick Clegg, has advocated a new type of publicly funded school, in his first speech on public services since being elected to the top job.
The government's Children's Plan sets out an ambitious vision for raising educational standards. Here, schools minister Jim Knight explains how a new approach to commissioning can help local...
Up to 110,000 vulnerable children face an uncertain future because they are caught in a backlog of asylum applications that might not be cleared until 2011, children's charity Barnardo's has warned...
All local authorities will be expected to prepare their annual accounts in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards from April 2010, CIPFA has announced.
The Private Finance Initiative is delivering real benefits but needs sustained political will and the right environment to succeed, business leaders have told a Scottish Parliament inquiry into...
The government's £1bn ten-year Children's Plan, setting out a strategy for education, welfare and play, has received a cautious welcome from education professionals.
The government's high-profile campaign to halve child poverty by 2010 came under stinging criticism last week as two reports cast serious doubt on its ability to meet the target.
The health service must provide financial management training for doctors, nurses and other clinicians to improve efficiency and patient care, according to the Audit Commission.
The CBI has hit out at government mismanagement of public procurement, which it warns is threatening ministers' ambitious plans for reforming frontline services.
Another day, another departmental disaster: can't the government get anything right? Colin Talbot takes an unseasonal swipe at civil service blunders and asks what's behind Whitehall's annus...
Where next for the IPPR? Judy Hirst talks to its new co-directors about a more consensual style of politics and why two thinking heads are better than one
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has announced a 'major acceleration' of the programme that allows local authorities to hand over surplus or disused buildings to community organisations for a token...
Funding for social care services for people with learning difficulties will be transferred from the NHS to local authorities as part of a wider overhaul, the government has announced.
The government is to investigate the scale and nature of the private sector's role in delivering public services, as figures revealed that they now provide £44bn worth.
Love it or loathe it, the PFI has been a part of the public sector for more than a decade. But with changes in government policies and in its accounting treatment, what future, if any, does it have...
