Standing up for NHS managers is a tough assignment, but a new union leader is tackling the challenge in a determined yet relaxed way. Seamus Ward reports
He's a loyal Man U fan and an even more loyal New Labour devotee. Now the local government minister has a new enthusiasm council finances. David Harding reports
Funny, isn't it? For ages, there are no transport crises. Then they all come along at once. Christian Wolmar explains the issues that are now putting the pressure on Transport Secretary Alistair...
Hospitals, schools and councils are all facing radical reform, but the funding systems imposed to achieve this are far from joined up. Tony Travers points out the contrasting philosophies and calls...
A blow to spending on social care services threatens a deterioration in quality of life for carers and users, but a new grant could protect this vulnerable group and ease some of the pressures on...
The detox diets and gym memberships will soon be history. But for Public Finance 's panel of public sector experts, the New Year challenges have only just begun.
What goes around comes around. For decades, small-scale government was all the rage. Now large centralised public agencies are back in fashion. Colin Talbot and Carole Johnson investigate the merger...
Are Comprehensive Performance Assessments local government's very own I'm a celebrity contest a desperate scrabble for stars and praise or a helpful catalyst for improvement? Phil Swann...
With the NHS running an unhealthily large deficit, the government is sending in hit squads to sort out the problems. But do they have the right prescription? Seamus Ward investigates
Some people see regulation as more a matter of accreditation than ensuring improvement, but not the Healthcare Commission. Its system is designed to prompt changes for the better, its chair explains
Fed up with slaving away in the background on your worthy but dull project while others bask in the glory of their ground-breaking, award-winning pathfinders? Well, suffer no longer. Michael Ware has...
Well, the Licensing Act has finally come into effect, and half the nation is still waiting in fear for the other half to go on a drunken rampage. Philip Johnston considers the consequences of the law...
So the chancellor has managed just to keep within his fiscal rules. But his Pre-Budget Report lays the ground for spending cuts that will leave little funding for services other than the...
Announcing the local government finance settlement at the same time as the Pre-Budget Report might have pushed it into the news background. But the government cannot hide from the issues forever
Westminster is at it again, proposing 'super councils' that will rapidly gobble up smaller ones. George Jones and John Stewart reckon something fishy is going on
Anna Simons loves a challenge, whether it is belting out songs in a Japanese karaoke bar or joining the City. That's why the NAO is perfect for her, she tells Vivienne Russell
So finally the Pensions Commission report is out. But has it found the answer to the funding crisis and, if so, will the government take its recommendations on board? Peter Robinson investigates
Big changes are afoot in Whitehall, starting with the role of the traditional civil servant. But will this rush to 'professionalise' have the desired effect? Public Finance and Deloitte invited a...
Sir Michael Bichard's criticisms of the National Audit Office, published in PF last week, are untrue and unfair. The watchdog's work has actually resulted in lasting improvements and even saved...
CPAs for Whitehall? Don't make me laugh, says Colin Talbot. Sir Gus O'Donnell's Departmental Capability Reviews for central government are far removed from the rigorous external performance...
The Home Office's finance chief is bringing a professional accounting approach to Whitehall at a time when it is under most pressure. She talks to Mark Conrad
The British civil service is rightly admired throughout the world, and yet everyone wants to 'reform' it. Tony Travers considers the skills that are needed for the thoroughly modern mandarin
Registered social landlords need to use imaginative methods and lateral thinking to keep track of rent arrears. Finding ways of reducing them also requires unorthodox approaches and effective use of...
