Civil servants this week urged the Cabinet Office to take swift action to correct problems with senior salaries that have distorted pay settlements for lower grade staff.
A democracy needs to be sure that the figures on which decisions are made are accurate and do not mask a hidden agenda. The Statistics Commission chair would like to see safeguards enshrined in law
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's review of the local government grant formula must take greater account of the extra cost of providing essential public services to far-flung rural...
For all the talk of a dramatic urban renaissance, population flight from Britain's city centres to suburbia and the countryside continues apace. Tony Travers explains what needs to be done to reverse...
Sir Gus O'Donnell is soon to take over the Whitehall hot seat newly vacated by Sir Andrew Turnbull. Will he follow in his reforming steps or take a different path? Mark Conrad finds out
The Office of Government Commerce's trading arm this week reported that it had made efficiency savings worth £321m on £2bn worth of procurement deals during 2004/05.
Sir Andrew Turnbull this week delivered his final speech as Cabinet secretary, calling for further Whitehall reforms and attacking critics who questioned civil service values under his stewardship.
You wouldn't know it, but the NHS Plan had its fifth birthday this week. There were no celebrations and ministers ignored the occasion. So what ever happened to this 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity...
Economists and opposition politicians are demanding that the government's fiscal policy be assessed by an independent body and based on statistics free from suspicion of political interference, after...
England's councils could exceed their £1.2bn efficiency target for 2005/06, according to a comprehensive study of 152 local authorities by IPF, the commercial arm of CIPFA.
London won the right to stage the 2012 Olympics on the strength of the legacy that it will leave behind for deprived areas such as east London. So will transport, housing and other facilities be...
I think I feel a primary care shake-up coming on. The government is finally turning its attention from hospitals to family doctor services, says Noel Plumridge. Its mission? To bring back patient-...
David Blunkett has signalled his scepticism over claims by a number of organisations that the bedrock of a reformed pensions system should be more generous and non-means tested state provision.
Successive governments have been too eager to hold on to power at the expense of local communities, the new minister in charge told the Local Government Association conference in Harrogate.
Most of the NHS foundation hospitals have begun to use their new powers to borrow and invest, and are financially sound. But government policy on the next steps in their development needs to be...
Some local authorities have still not introduced any procedures to prevent money laundering, although they have been legally required to do so for more than a year. It's time they woke up to the...
The UK is unusual in having virtually no legislative control over central government reorganisations. Proponents of this state of affairs point to its flexibility, but it can also lead to flawed...
The new benefits minister is intent on reforms that will raise the employment rate, overhaul housing allowances and fix the DWP's IT systems. Mark Conrad reports
Councils are unable to keep pace with the demands placed on their social care services despite their best efforts, local government leaders warned this week.
The government's push to improve neighbourhoods will not be carried out at the expense of councils, local government minister Phil Woolas claimed this week.