Plans to further centralise control of Britain's rail network could bring an end to the 'messianic individual' approach to regulation, which hinders effective co-ordination across the sector, a...
Twenty-six councils have won promotion and nine have slipped down the rankings as the Audit Commission published the first annual update of the Comprehensive Performance Assessments on December 18.
Pharmaceutical companies must undergo a radical change in the way they choose, research and develop new drugs and treatments, the King's Fund said this week.
NHS finance salaries must not be downgraded under a new pay system due to be implemented next autumn, leading health service accountants told the Healthcare Financial Management Association...
All public bodies will be required to produce commercial-style accounts by 2006 under Treasury plans to improve the sector's financial transparency and service delivery.
The Audit Commission waded into the bitter council tax row this week with research laying the blame for England's 12.9% average rise in the tax on the government's poor funding system and its...
Eric Pickles, the shadow local government secretary, has described this year's council finance settlement as a 'dog's breakfast' and warned that 'serious funding problems' would hamper new education...
Council chief executives this week criticised the government's proposed overhaul of child care across Britain, claiming it was 'too limited' and 'overly focused on local government structures'.
Stronger performance indicators on cutting obesity and smoking, a national strategy on obesity and more resources for public health services are likely to result from the second Wanless Review.
The leader of Whitehall's largest union has criticised the public sector efficiency review being conducted by Peter Gershon after the mandarin admitted he would not scrutinise public-private...
New shadow local government secretary David Curry has vowed to take the fight for council freedoms and flexibilities to the Labour government following his surprise appointment as one of the...
The Treasury has rejected MPs' calls to allow the National Audit Office to scrutinise data from Whitehall departments that measures their progress against key improvement targets.
Media and parliamentary interest may dictate the level of humanitarian aid the Department for International Development provides, a report from the National Audit Office warned this week.
Westminster council has called on Chancellor Gordon Brown to intervene in its dispute with the Office for National Statistics after its watchdog cast doubt on the 2001 Census results.
Local authorities are demanding a guarantee from Charles Clarke that the promised 4% funding increase for schools next year will not starve other vital services of cash.
Councils need an extra £17m if they are to fulfil emergency planning requirements and meet heightened public expectations in the wake of the September 11 attacks, the Local Government Association has...
Civil service unions have voiced alarm at the 'extraordinary' pace of a Treasury review aimed at slashing billions of pounds off the government's running costs, fearing it may lead to job cuts across...
Former top Treasury mandarin Lucy de Groot, who until last month was Gordon Brown's director of public services, has said the government is confused about its own philosophy of 'new localism'.
Rail passengers are forced to travel in 'intolerable conditions' on overcrowded trains and urgent action is needed to stop the situation from getting even worse, according to MPs.
The Scottish Executive is to recruit an expert from the private sector to head a new performance and innovation unit as part of plans to strengthen the office of permanent secretary and sharpen up...
Ministers should scrap all national targets for secondary school pupils because they have now 'served their purpose', an influential committee of MPs reported this week.