The Prison Service is missing out on potential savings because its procurement procedures are too fragmented, according to the National Audit Office.
The public spending watchdog found that while...
Local government leaders hit out at the government this week after Nick Raynsford demanded an explanation from authorities for the 'excessive' council tax increases that some have levied.
The Welsh Assembly has said it will 'consider in depth' a National Audit Office recommendation to restructure the way its NHS directorate procures medicines, after auditors said it could save £50m a...
Education Secretary Charles Clarke has refused to give MPs an undertaking that universities successful in raising money themselves would be protected from a corresponding cut in central government...
The Liberal Democrats hope to benefit from Labour's unpopularity over the Iraq crisis and the continuing doldrums of the Tories to make serious gains in May's local elections.
The party's spring...
The government has confirmed it is to throw another multimillion pound lifeline to the beleaguered private company in charge of Britain's skies.
Under a refinancing deal approved by the Civil...
Local Government Association economic and environmental policy director Neil Kinghan is crossing back into central government to become director general for local and regional government at the...
An NHS trust this week denied it will have to close a celebrated teaching hospital because of a Private Finance Initiative 'blunder'.
St Mary's Trust said it favoured keeping its Western Eye...
Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith has vowed to scrap NHS waiting list targets if the party wins the next election, under plans outlined in a consultation document.
Tapping into the...
The relentless push for public services improvement has provided a burgeoning market for the Improvement and Development Agency, which plans to expand to meet rising demand from local government....
A revised GP contract will put patients at the heart of NHS primary care services by ushering in a radical reform of the way practices are funded.
The proposed contract, published late last week,...
Health Secretary Alan Milburn has overturned more than a decade of NHS thinking by giving small hospitals a new lease of life.
Many local cottage hospitals have closed as the health service sought...
Ofsted, the schools' inspectorate, has insisted that it will meet its March deadline to inspect and register all childminders and nurseries, despite a growing backlog of checks.
A spokeswoman told...
Local government minister Nick Raynsford has promised to continue paying for an expansion of councils' workforce training programmes providing a £27m pathfinder scheme launched this week is a success...
Visions of 200,000 new houses, millions of pounds to regenerate declining areas in the Midlands and the North, and at least £1bn for houses for key workers dominated Sustainable Communities, John...
The Private Finance Initiative is delivering most central government building projects on time and at, or below, estimated cost, the National Audit Office said in a report this week.
The Treasury has opened its doors to the prospect of allowing councils to raise and control more funds locally, according to Paul Boateng, the chief secretary to the Treasury .
London Mayor Ken Livingstone is on the point of sealing a deal with the government to transfer the London Underground to his control, after a prolonged dispute over a possible £1.5bn funding gap in...
Local government leaders and ministers will shortly agree the terms of reference for the long-awaited balance of funding review, allowing work finally to get under way.
As the Fire Brigades Union heads towards a resumption of its strike programme, Prime Minister Tony Blair has maintained his tough stance, saying the stoppages are 'wrong, dangerous and unjustified'.
Westminster City Council has accused the Office for National Statistics of refusing to allow ministers to see data that could be crucial in resolving their dispute over the 2001 census.
Westminster City Council is on the brink of launching legal action against the government's registrar general after allegations that the 2001 census was wildly inaccurate.
