Two heads are better than one when it comes to leading a major culture change in children's services. Sally Gainsbury meets the joint presidents of the Association of Directors of Children's Services...
Just as the Barker review points the way to more planning incentives, along comes the European Union with yet another fly in the ointment. Now even section 106 projects are threatened by procurement...
The Department for Work and Pensions has tried to improve its call centres after a damning PAC report last year. But has it done enough? Justin Pugsley reports
Number 10's online road-pricing e-petition was a huge hit. Not in terms of the likely fate of that policy but because it encouraged nearly 2 million people to put their point of view. Not a bad...
A report published last week summarises the state of social housing and offers some solutions to the dilemmas the sector faces. But it promises no quick solutions to a complex set of problems
Building more low-cost homes for sale is one of the solutions to the housing crisis. But this doesn't have to be the sole preserve of private developers. In fact, social landlords are taking on this...
Whitehall's attempts at consultation leave a lot to be desired. But effective policy-making can only be achieved when there is a genuine process of engagement with all the different parties involved
Holyrood could face a radical shake-up after Scotland's May elections. So what difference would it make to public services? David Scott quizzes the key politicians
Despite the best efforts of the Disability Discrimination Act, too many disabled people are still treated as second-class citizens. The new equality duty on public sector organisations is intended to...
Organisations wishing to challenge contracts awarded by public bodies have been able to do so on the basis of judicial review. Not any longer, it would seem, if the decision to tender had been...
It's the end of the line for a lot of regulatory red tape in local government as Peter Rogers prepares to slash more than 60 Whitehall-controlled areas down to five. He explains his role
Most policies are made at a national level and do not reflect England's true economic geography, which is at city or council level. Local optimisation means there must be more local decision-making
Rural regeneration was once top of the in-tray at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. But other political priorities are preoccupying ministers, and public services in the...
As the UK rushes to improve the skills of its workforce, a door has opened for more private sector involvement in further and higher education. Is this filling a gap or taking over at the expense of...
US-style healthcare schemes are increasingly being imported into the NHS. But do they work on UK soil? Opinion is sharply divided within the medical profession and beyond. Seamus Ward investigates
Public bodies are well versed in EU procurement rules, which require various services to be put out to tender. But recent European Court judgments have muddied the water. Norman Ballantyne explains
Despite record levels of investment, the public sector is seen to be in crisis. This is because services are suffering from having simplistic market models foisted on them, argues Unison's general...
Should the chief financial officer always be on a council's top management team? CIPFA's vice-president gives his views on the subject that has been exercising PF readers in recent weeks
Are decades of planning laws about to be reversed in a free-for-all that will carpet England's green belts with out-of-town megastores? Peter Hetherington weighs up the evidence on the Barker review
The Gershon efficiency drive has probably saved billions of pounds. But the government's reluctance to reveal just how this was done might undermine the programme's other aim of regaining public...
Who would have thought it? NHS Resource Accounting and Budgeting has suddenly got the media excited. And there's plenty more fancy footwork where that came from. Andy McKeon explains how the Rab...
Tony Blair has successfully used market forces to improve public services, but will his successors adopt a more populist approach? This is not the time to change, argues one business leader
The game is up for the Child Support Agency. But will its new replacement do a better job at collecting the missing billions of pounds in maintenance? Paul Gosling investigates
Public sector bodies look set to face new rules and responsibilities as part of the government's attempt to cut carbon emissions. Proposals now out for consultation offer both challenges and...
The local government white paper promised a bright new future for 'radical and devolutionary reform'. But the process has already been short-circuited, argues Tim Thorogood
