Scotland's public sector watchdog has defended itself against claims by members of the Scottish Parliament that it might not be achieving best value following rising costs in its budget.
Local government should seize the opportunity offered by the Lyons Inquiry and push for a model of local transport funding akin to that developed by Transport for London, the Local Government...
Ken Livingstone has pledged to put the fight against global warming at the heart of his London plan, as he published the first major review of the 2004 strategy.
Government and local authority interaction with communities after the London bombings last July was 'well-intentioned' but 'could have been better co-ordinated', the Home Office has been warned.
The Treasury this week stood firm over its decision to administer tax credits from the Revenue and Customs department, despite claims that the system is 'in crisis' and should be moved to the...
Core Whitehall departments struggled to match the performance of other central government bodies in getting to grips with the Freedom of Information Act, according to recent figures.
Financial managers in the public sector are prepared to do what is required to make the Gershon efficiencies but first they want some firm decisions on how the improvements will be measured
Senior civil servants will shortly be asked to sign a confidentiality declaration and assign copyright to the Crown for information relating to their work, under plans to prevent the publication of...
The minister co-ordinating the government's public services reforms this week urged Whitehall departments to sign up to a project that could prevent workforce opposition to future changes.
Patricia Hewitt survived the recent Cabinet reshuffle. But her department faces huge upheavals, with newly merged SHAs and PCTs and a worldwide search for a new health service boss. Seamus Ward...
This year's big winners at the Public Servants of the Year Awards work in very different parts of the public sector, but they share a commitment to helping disadvantaged young people turn their lives...
Chancellor Gordon Brown's tough new public sector pay remit has sparked an angry response from senior civil servants, who accuse the government of failing to understand the complexities of Whitehall'...
Town hall leaders have welcomed Sir Michael Lyons' latest report on local government reform, which gives a boost to the localism agenda as it calls for greater decentralisation.
New transport chief Douglas Alexander might imagine he has inherited a successful rail sector. But Christian Wolmar predicts a host of problems further down the track
David Miliband planted the idea of 'double devolution' when he was communities minister. Now the priority of his successor, Ruth Kelly, must be to explain what this concept means and how it will...
The past four decades have produced major technological, medical and engineering advances but have failed dismally to reform local government finance. Sarah Wood says this time there must be change...
Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett this week pledged that the government would play its part in helping to transform the nation's lifestyle habits into more environmentally friendly ones.
A catalogue of central government failures strengthens the case for devolving more powers to local government. So why despite decades of official rhetoric and numerous inquiries is Whitehall so...
The chair of the Lyons Inquiry into Local Government says that there is now a consensus in favour of more decentralisation. But councils will have to raise their game to improve transparency and...
Local government is finally getting the attention it deserves, with its white paper and inquiry both due this year. But will anything change? Public Finance invited Sir Michael Lyons and a round...
The structure of local government, as well as how it is run and financed are all under scrutiny. This offers the perfect opportunity to explore lasting reforms after years of tinkering, argue Frank...
Unions this week suspended plans for strikes in the lead-up to the local elections, following what they called a 'very positive move forward' in the dispute over the local government pension scheme.
Below-inflation staged pay awards. A new government committee to vet all deals. Is this an incomes policy in all but name? Alastair Hatchett explains why and how the Treasury is getting tough on...
