Government plans to slash £21.5bn from annual public sector costs by 2008 could be undermined by the private sector's inability to deliver outsourced services, a senior CBI official has warned.
NHS accident and emergency departments are 'the envy of the world', according to a Department of Health report, but need more doctors if care is to improve further.
The explicit efficiency targets for local government, set out in Sir Peter Gershon's review, are to be relaxed in favour of a more 'flexible' approach to meeting the overall £6.45bn figure, Public...
Business leaders have rounded on the Commons' Public Accounts Committee for its 'blame culture' after it again criticised civil servants for not managing relationships with suppliers more effectively...
Ministers are close to a final decision on a major cull of public sector inspectorates, but plans to merge up to 13 bodies into four is causing concern.
More informed decision-making and greater consultation with teachers should be incorporated into the commissioning of Private Finance Initiative school buildings, the Northern Ireland Audit Office...
Home Secretary David Blunkett has rejected radical proposals to 'regionalise' the police service and grant district councils funding powers to 'buy' officers, Public Finance has learned.
Local government leaders are to step up their campaign for more government cash in November's revenue support grant settlement, as ministers indicate that they will be looking for average council tax...
Too few children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities are being educated in mainstream schools despite government action, the school inspectorate said this week.
'One is the loneliest number' goes the song behind Unison's latest TV recruitment campaign the message being that workers are stronger if they stand united than if they act alone.
Northern Ireland's councils have reacted angrily to proposals to cut their number from 26 to just seven, as news emerged of the initial proposals of the Review of Public Administration.
Health and education are the big winners at the expense of local government in the Welsh Assembly government's draft budget, provoking warnings of council tax hikes next year.
Sixty-two local authorities in 21 areas will take part in the first Local Area Agreements as Whitehall moved this week to rationalise funding and give councils a taste of new localism.
Reforming council tax and equalising the balance of funding would be priorities for a first-term Conservative administration, according to the shadow local government secretary Caroline Spelman.
Local government leaders are seeking urgent talks with the Office for National Statistics over fears that its 2003 mid-year population estimates are wrong, Public Finance has learned.
