The troubled Child Support Agency has refused to disclose whether former chief executive Doug Smith received a bonus before leaving earlier this year despite revealing that senior staff have...
Rhodri Morgan is every bit as evangelical as Tony Blair when it comes to improving public services. But Wales is taking a very different route from Westminster. Steve Davies reports on public sector...
Health workers will be sent to deprived communities to provide health tests as part of a ten-year plan for the future of the NHS in Scotland announced by Health Minister Andy Kerr.
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Annabel Goldie looked set to inherit the top job this week after the sudden resignation of David McLetchie, who has been at the centre of a long-running row over...
Councils could be forced to delve into billions of pounds of vital cash reserves following a tough 2006/07 finance settlement, ministers have warned town hall officials.
The civil service should be replaced by a new organisation embracing all those involved in the management of the public sector, former top civil servant Sir Michael Bichard has suggested.
Never one to shrink from a challenge, David Blunkett has taken the incapacity benefit bit between his teeth. Judy Hirst reports on the work and pensions secretary's controversial measures to get...
Water companies' services are almost perfect, says the regulator. But with almost 4,000 million litres of water wasted through burst pipes and leakages every day, David Meilton begs to differ
Northern Ireland is to follow the example of the Republic of Ireland and Scotland by banning smoking in all workplaces and enclosed public spaces from April 2007.
Managers in the public sector came under fire from a leading economist at the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers annual conference this week.
The creation of 'super-councils' to run all public services is among radical options being considered by the Scottish Executive's review of governance.
Sunday is a day of rest and dread if you run a public body. For, come Monday, you know you have to run a gauntlet of inspectors, auditors, MPs and others who all have something to say about your...
Some five million householders in England and Wales are at risk of flooding - and as many as 41% of them are unaware of the dangers, the Environment Agency has warned.
A new efficiency plan showing how resources for affordable homes can be made to deliver more has been produced by Communities Scotland, the executive agency responsible for housing and regeneration...
Scottish Water has improved its efficiency and slashed operating costs but it could still do better, according to a report from Audit Scotland this week.
Becoming more efficient isn't an end in itself for local authorities. By improving the way they do things, councils can concentrate more on their main job managing resources and services in the...
Scottish local authorities have called on the Executive to provide additional funding to cope with the 'massive' financial implications of its flagship law and order Bill.
The public sector could employ an additional 5,700 doctors, 12,800 nurses or 9,100 police officers annually with the money it loses through two forms of benefit fraud.
Scottish Finance Minister Tom McCabe this week launched a counter-attack against the wave of criticism of the Executive's £1.2bn efficient government initiative.
Housing associations have the potential to raise significantly more private finance, say lenders, even though total borrowing by the sector is already poised to exceed £30bn.
As the Conservatives gear up for their Blackpool conference next week, they face their most important leadership contest in more than 40 years. Philip Johnston analyses the policies behind the beauty...
