The government wants savings, and e-auctions could help to deliver them. They save time, money and encourage joined-up working, if used in the right context, as Justin Pugsley explains
High levels of public spending are exacerbating regional economic disparities and leading to dependency on central government handouts in some areas, according to a free market think-tank, Reform.
The Department of Health is considering compensating social services departments for the increased burdens created by cuts to NHS services, Public Finance has learnt.
Councils are warning that they are being starved of vital resources to fund basic services because of the government's inability to produce accurate immigration figures.
The proposal to open NHS commissioning to private companies envisages that primary care trusts will be able to choose whether or not to use these services. But PCTs look likely to be pressed to do...
The chief executive of the Local Government Association tells Joseph McHugh about the push for greater autonomy and diversity in the provision of council services
Having been quick to judge the rest of the public sector, Whitehall now faces similar scrutiny. And it hasn't fared well. Colin Talbot looks at the impact of capability reviews and applies his own...
Breakfast and after-school clubs have a beneficial effect on children's confidence and motivation but they are being hampered by short-term funding, school inspectors said this week.
Anyone who doubted Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell's claim that his Departmental Capability Reviews would be tougher and more honest than many Whitehall stalwarts expected need look no further...
Regional aid budgets face a shake-up as the EU adapts its funding system to deal with enlargement. This is likely to hit areas with fragile economies unless the government offers councils a safety...
It's been all around the Houses, argued over and amended beyond recognition. And it only managed to get this far with Opposition support. Phil Revell considers the progress of the controversial...
What has a philosophy designed to revolutionise car production got to do with the public sector? Well, quite a lot, it turns out. Zoe Radnor and Paul Walley explain how 'lean thinking' is crossing...
The government's ambition to improve public services is being hindered by Whitehall's 'undoubted failure' to grasp how to deliver services, an expert has told Public Finance .
Sir Jeremy Beecham's review shows that reform of public services in Wales is on the right track but needs to progress further and faster. The Welsh Assembly Government welcomes the challenge
Japan's Government Policy Evaluation Act bears a passing resemblance to Whitehall's Public Service Agreements. But it is part of a deeper and more extensive reform to take the politics out of public...
It seems that time is running out for the big regeneration programmes. But, despite government rhetoric about 'mainstreaming', practitioners fear that their resources might not transfer into the...
One of devolved Scotland's first major policies was free personal care for the elderly. Four years on, how has it fared and does it offer any lessons for the rest of the UK? David Scott reports
Sure Start, tax credits, baby bonds. Gordon Brown has not been idle on the social policy front while he waits for his chance at the premiership. But what kind of legacy will the longest-serving...
Social care is often described as the Cinderella service. So will Ivan Lewis, the fourth to wear the ministerial shoes in just five years, turn out to be its Prince Charming? Sally Gainsbury went to...
Managers who 'lost their grip' were blamed this week by the Audit Commission for the financial crisis in the NHS organisations with the most serious deficits.
