John Swinney has insisted that the Scottish government's local income tax plans are 'robust' and can be delivered, despite the flood of criticism that greeted the publication of his consultation...
Northern Ireland's 26 district councils are to merge into 11 new councils. A decision of the Northern Ireland Executive was opposed only by the two Ulster Unionist ministers after intensive...
Benefits reform is back centre stage, with new get-tough policies for a part-privatised jobs service. The welfare czar talks to Judy Hirst about breaking the dependency habit
The 1997 Single Status Agreement was supposed to end unequal pay in local government. But a decade on, women are still underpaid, thousands of cases are clogged up in tribunals and workers are on the...
The centre of government has been given a make-over, with new policy advisers and even a permanent secretary at Number 10. But they're no nearer to finding Brown's big idea, says Tony Travers
This year has got off to a somewhat odd start, with the word that dared not speak its name nationalisation back from the dead, and even state ownership of body parts up for debate
The 'use of resources' element of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment has led to a dramatic improvement in council services. But it won't be stopping there. In fact, it's set to play an even...
We received an impressive tally of high-scoring entries to our annual sprint through the year's public sector events. So very well done to our winner, Karen Franklin of Spalding in Lincolnshire, who...
The Private Finance Initiative is delivering real benefits but needs sustained political will and the right environment to succeed, business leaders have told a Scottish Parliament inquiry into...
Councils can drive down costs and improve the quality of their services by increasing their use of competition and market mechanisms, according to the Audit Commission.
There are big ambitions for the Comprehensive Area Assessment: for it to judge how well councils are serving their communities, and for it to be a more nimble form of inspection than its predecessor...
Welsh council leaders hit out at an 'inadequate' settlement for local government this week, warning that council tax rises and service cuts would be inevitable.
Wales has rejected the Blair-led notion that the private sector should be a major service provider. Andrew Davies, minister for finance and public service delivery, talks to Alex Klaushofer about...
Private contractors providing welfare services could be subjected to a ratings system similar to that used for councils and NHS trusts, under government plans to tackle unemployment and poverty.
The Public and Commercial Services union has attacked Prime Minister Gordon Brown's creation of a Border Agency to oversee security at ports and airports.
The timing could hardly have been worse. Job creation is the Northern Ireland Executive's top priority, Finance Minister Peter Robinson announced in his Budget.
The Highways Agency must rely less on external consultants, as 'poor commercial acumen' is leading to projects going massively over budget, MPs have said.
