Welsh local authorities have a tough housing standard to meet and only one real way of paying for it: transferring their stock to an RSL. It's not a popular policy, especially for councils whose...
Despite the rhetoric, the public sector is still handcuffed by bureaucracy and targets. A better solution is performance contracting, which has worked in prisons and has the power to bring creativity...
From public sector productivity to migration, official statistics have rarely been so hotly contested. Tony Travers analyses the reasons for the party-political punch-ups
Wales has rejected the Blair-led notion that the private sector should be a major service provider. Andrew Davies, minister for finance and public service delivery, talks to Alex Klaushofer about...
Eradicating hospital infections is not just about intensive cleaning. The ways in which demanding targets have been reached might be a cause of the problem and amount to false economies. Noel...
Ways to cope with the economic and social implications of an ageing society are at last on the government's to-do list. Public Finance and Deloitte convened a round table of politicians and policy...
The Comprehensive Spending Review held no surprises with only small increases in budgets. But how does this match with the rising needs of vulnerable older people, asks Anne Williams
The government wants neighbourhoods and communities to run more services. But with an eye-wateringly tight local government financial settlement, how will this be funded? Peter Hetherington...
District councils are devastated and lawyers shocked. Last month a judge found that the secretary of state could press on with plans for unitary authorities before her powers to do so had become law
'Personalised public services' is the Brown government's latest Big Idea. But how are the ambitious plans for round-the-clock GP services, individual health budgets and one-to-one tutoring going to...
An ageing population presents a series of issues that must be addressed now, if millions of people are to have a decent old age. Rebecca George looks at the challenges ahead
& it's the way that you do it. And that's the problem when it comes to putting policies such as healthy eating into practice. Phil Swann identifies the obstacles
The new chancellor's first Pre-Budget Report forecast a temporary dip in revenue and slowed the growth in spending. Both of these pose risks for the government's grand plans for public services
The Equality and Human Rights Commission came into being this month, bringing all equality issues under one roof. Is this a great leap forward in the fight against discrimination or a messy merger of...
The NHS has managed to turn a deficit of £547m into a surplus of £510m in one year. Sally Gainsbury looks at the figures behind this success story, and asks how such a financial turnaround could have...
he shock waves from Northern Rock continue to reverberate throughout the British economy. But what do the financial upheavals mean for public sector organisations and employees? Paul Gosling delves...
The Comprehensive Spending Review is imminent but Chief Secretary to the Treasury Andy Burnham still has some juggling to do not least to find the funding for the PM's new plans for public services...
The government has done it again, rushing to set up new structures without waiting for the due process of law. This time it concerns Local Involvement Networks, which are set to replace NHS patient...
Mental health used to be the NHS's Cinderella service. Now it gets more funding than any other clinical area and has modernised its methods. But could the controversial new mental health laws roll...
The grumblings from public sector trade unions are growing louder as Gordon Brown prepares for his first Labour Party conference as prime minister next week. But the strike threats over the pay rise...
After the fallout from Northern Rock, next month's Comprehensive Spending Review has suddenly become a lot more interesting. Colin Talbot charts the changes ahead for public spending and targets...
Gordon Brown and David Cameron might make out they are miles apart when it comes to education policies. But former No 10 adviser Conor Ryan finds plenty of common ground
It seemed a good idea to some at the time but now support for a Planning Gain Supplement is waning. Tim Williams explains why, and suggests alternatives
Six years on from 9/11, the UK's anti-terrorism strategy is undergoing a major rethink, with a big emphasis on prevention. Philip Johnston asks whether the newly reorganised Home Office has finally...
