Reforming council tax and equalising the balance of funding would be priorities for a first-term Conservative administration, according to the shadow local government secretary Caroline Spelman.
Scotland's new finance minister, Tom McCabe, has dismissed comparisons with England on efficiency in government, saying the targets set are 'appropriate for Scotland' irrespective of the figures for...
Audit Scotland has clashed with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (Cosla) over the spending watchdog's claim that more than £170m of public money is being lost through non-payment and...
Housing associations have been warned to expect even closer scrutiny of their costs as the Housing Corporation embarks on light-touch regulation for some landlords.
Students will not apply for university places until they know their A-level results under proposed radical changes to higher education access backed by the government.
Audit Commission chief executive Steve Bundred believes CIPFA's proposed merger would help restore public confidence in the profession following a series of scandals.
The Local Government Association has pledged that poor or weak performing councils will be a thing of the past by 2007 as part of a bold bargaining agenda to extract more freedoms from Whitehall.
Whitehall's ability to deliver £21.5bn-worth of savings targeted in Sir Peter Gershon's efficiency review came under renewed doubt this week following a damning report on public sector procurement.
Whitehall is to devolve decision-making to local authorities in nine pilot areas from next year in the first tangible example of the government's commitment to localism.
Council leaders claimed this week that major reform of the local government finance system could be 'kicked into the long grass' as ministers announced a further inquiry after the 15-month Balance of...
A national 'pay-as-you-drive' scheme to fund Britain's roads could replace a combination of road, vehicle licensing and fuel taxes within two decades, the government has announced.
NHS trusts have made only limited progress in reducing hospital-acquired infections over the past four years, despite the high profile given to the issue, government auditors have said.
The Conservatives would scrap both Best Value and the Comprehensive Performance Assessment system for councils, but have reached no decision on what they would put in their place.
The newly elected senior executive of the Public and Commercial Services union is to meet next week to plan what it promises will be a 'hard-hitting and long-term campaign' to challenge the...
Local authorities will continue to play an important part in education despite government moves to give schools greater control over their finances, Education Secretary Charles Clarke insisted this...
Government plans to strip councils of most of their education responsibilities will rupture relations between Whitehall and county hall, the Local Government Association's new chair has warned.
The National Audit Office looks set to be the body to assess whether the planned multi-billion pound savings widely expected to be outlined in the imminent Gershon report are actually being achieved.
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive put tenants' health and safety at risk and breached departmental rules in contracting for the installation of gas heating systems, according to auditor general...
The saga of Westminster's missing residents was drawing to a close this week as the Office for National Statistics prepared to admit that it had underestimated the authority's population by almost 10...
A national education funding quango would be a 'retrograde step' for the sector, which must retain local flexibilities in determining how schools receive and spend cash, according to the incoming...
A sign of a more aggressive Whitehall emerged this week with the Cabinet Office's summary dismissal of contractor ITnet after an £83m project looked in danger of becoming delayed and over-budget.
Thousands of public sector jobs in Scotland could be axed as part of an efficiency drive affecting civil servants, council staff and employees of public agencies.
Local plans to improve communities are being undermined by the myriad of confusing and complex funding streams, targets and new initiatives emerging from Whitehall, the Audit Commission has reported.