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
A flagship government health policy designed to get GPs involved in the design of NHS services is failing to improve patient care, many family doctors believe.
A £250m contingency fund should be created by the Treasury to help councils facing unplanned costs and potential community tensions because of poor immigration monitoring, town hall leaders have...
Northern Ireland's first Budget since the restoration of devolution has seen a big increase in economic development spending at the expense of social housing.
The government's commitment to the provision of psychological therapies is a significant breakthrough, mental health leaders have said, but care must be taken to ensure demand from patients is met.
& 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
'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
Council and social care leaders are warning that the government must use its forthcoming green paper on adult services funding to fundamentally rethink the system.
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 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...
News that adult social care funding will be frozen in real terms was sweetened slightly by the confirmation that the government will consult on a radical overhaul to the system.
Payment by results might help hospital managers and clinicians to understand their costs better, but it comes with significant costs of its own, the CIPFA health finance conference heard.
Primary care trusts should take patients' complaints into account when making commissioning decisions, especially those involving independent sector providers, the Healthcare Commission said this...
Private sector expectations for lucrative NHS contracts have 'come down with a bump' after government projections for their involvement proved to be 'over-egged', leading market analysts have said.
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...
