The probation service must balance conflicting local and national demands on its resources if it is to improve its services, according to the Audit Commission.
A last-minute £188m cash injection into this week's local government finance settlement may not be enough to head off mounting pay and service pressures, warn councils.
Local government minister Hilary Armstrong is to send a seven-strong financial hit squad into the London Borough of Hackney to help the troubled authority deal with its budget deficit.
A south London borough's £1bn-plus regeneration programme is under the spotlight after the shock resignation of its mayor from the Labour group last week.
The most expensive building venture undertaken by English Partnerships, the government's national urban regeneration and development agency, faces its acid test this week when the London Borough of...
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has pledged an extra £100m for the government's neighbourhood renewal fund, doubling the amount of money being given to deprived areas next year. The money is in...
Staff at the London Borough of Hackney are to escalate their industrial action against the drastic cuts the council has drawn up to tackle its financial crisis
Local authorities hoping arm's length management companies will prove an attractive alternative to the wholesale transfer of council housing may face a tortuous journey setting one up
Unison, Scotland's largest public service union, has launched an attack on the Scottish Executive's plans to introduce competition to the water industry
A cross-party committee of MPs has slammed Railtrack's management of the rail network and castigated its 'totally inadequate' supervision of safety procedures in a damning report published on...
The new head of the NHS Executive said this week that he aims to create a single health service, breaking down the barriers between public health, social services and the NHS.
The Business Improvement District (Bid) approach, which uses levies on businesses to transform derelict neighbourhoods across the US, will take a step closer to becoming part of the British...
The chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee has launched a scathing attack on the Ministry of Defence for 'wasting' £60m on modifications after accepting sub-standard equipment from...
Local authorities should not use excess demand for social housing as an excuse for denying choice to their tenants, housing minister Nick Raynsford said this week.
On December 11, managers at the London Borough of Hackney will learn whether the current crisis caused by a gaping hole in the budget will be compounded by a mass walkout of council staff.
Councils have been placed at the forefront of transforming run-down city centres in the biggest shake-up in British urban regeneration policies for almost 25 years.
Customs and Excise is losing up to £100m a year in lost revenue because of illegal betting and could forfeit as much or more again if the trend towards Internet and offshore betting continues,...
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has bowed to pressure from local government and announced reforms to the Bellwin formula to help embattled councils deal with the floods that have devastated much...
Smaller shire councils have been promised they will not be excluded from next year's housing stock transfer programme by larger urban authorities hoping to offload tens of thousands of homes.
