England's local authorities lack the expertise to implement crucial government reforms, cannot retain high-quality staff and do not reward employees according to their ability to perform their jobs,...
Opposition to Prime Minister Tony Blair's welfare reforms intensified this week when civil servants joined political opponents including Chancellor Gordon Brown in condemning key proposals.
In the second of Public Finance 's series of 'After Lyons' articles, the Conservatives' shadow local government minister argues for a pragmatic pick 'n mix approach to Sir Michael's conclusions
Local government faces an uncertain future. The Lyons' report has been largely rejected by ministers, there is the prospect of a messy reorganisation, and local partnerships are failing to get off...
Nurses have demanded a meeting with Chancellor Gordon Brown and Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt as they threatened industrial action over this year's staged pay award.
Investment in district general hospitals is vital if the NHS is to implement a revolution in planned surgery, the British Medical Association said this week.
The Department of Health's controversial National Programme for IT risks setting back the NHS's information system for years and has no back-up plan if it fails, the Commons Public Accounts Committee...
The controversial NHS consultants' contract introduced in 2003 was a something-for-nothing deal that increased average salaries by more than £23,000 but led to doctors doing less work, the National...
Swathes of public sector staff could be on a collision course with the government after a union leader said the Trades Union Congress is in 'serious discussions' over co-ordinated industrial action...
The Labour Party in Wales, which fears losing control of the Welsh Assembly in the May 3 elections, accused its rivals of not presenting coherent proposals for new laws.
Doctors and insurance firms in Germany are up in arms over the 'NHS-lite' health reforms introduced on April 1. Greg Bousfield looks at the problems with the existing system and explains why...
The Department of Health's latest scheme to invite private companies to take control of GP services has been condemned as potentially destabilising and unnecessary.
A quarter of councils are under-performing in the services they provide to children, with the most vulnerable getting the worst service, Ofsted has said.
Civil servants have called on the government to maintain prison-based education schemes amid fears that financial constraints and overcrowding could lead to higher re-offending rates.
One of Gordon Brown's first moves as chancellor was to outsource responsibility for interest rates to the Monetary Policy Committee. So should he go further and create an independent body to oversee...
NHS primary care trusts have hit back at local authorities, claiming that they too are the victims of 'cost-shunting' as social care cuts have increased demand for NHS services.
The number of jobs expected to be lost in Northern Ireland's health trusts has doubled, the Department for Health, Social Services and Public Safety has told staff.
Doctors continued to vent their anger at the government this week as relations between ministers and the British Medical Association deteriorated further.
