Chancellor Gordon Brown's attempts to boost low earners' incomes through benefits have been thwarted because means testing has discouraged some people from staying in work, a study has claimed.
Just when everyone thought that Tomlinson's 14 19 diploma idea was over, key elements of it are being revived via a range of new vocational courses. But there are many financial and other challenges...
The Lyons Inquiry will have to find a way to make council tax fairer without the benefit of a revaluation of English homes. Peter Kenway and Ines Newman go back to basic principles and explain how...
A future Conservative government should curtail school selection and establish a 'very different agenda' to the vouchers policy on which the party fought the last election, shadow education secretary...
Government guidelines to ensure no child misses out on an education are being ignored by up to 84% of local authorities, research for the Department for Education and Skills has found.
The European Court of Justice has 'left the door wide open' for employees to challenge public sector bodies that reward long-serving staff with higher salaries, human resources experts are warning.
Alan Johnson has vowed to unveil wide-ranging proposals next month to put a stop to the 'chill indifference' of the state to children in care and banish the deep-seated disadvantage that condemns...
As the Labour Party gathers for a tumultuous annual conference, Madeleine Bunting and Simon Parker ask what almost ten years of Blairism has really meant for public services. And how can New Labour...
Social exclusion minister Hilary Armstrong this week warned local authorities and government departments that they must improve the way they deliver services to Britain's most vulnerable groups or...
More than 10% of social care posts were unfilled in September 2005, an increase of 0.6% from 2001, a survey commissioned by the Local Government Association has found.
Local and central government are under intense scrutiny, as a plethora of inquiries and reviews get set to report by the end of the year. But with near-civil war gripping the government, how likely...
A sharp rise in the child prison population has left councils hard pressed to meet their statutory duties to care for vulnerable child ex-offenders, say town hall leaders.
Children's needs involve broader issues than exam results and school performance. A new inspection system assesses the way they are dealt with holistically. Shane Flynn looks at the results
Prime Minister Tony Blair will next week launch a new attack on social exclusion, extending help to vulnerable children and adults through existing funding, which could be boosted in this winter's...
'Co-production' is the latest big idea buzzing round Whitehall, with the aim of involving citizens more in the design and delivery of local public services. But, as Vivienne Russell discovered, there...
The Healthcare Commission is concerned about the standards of children's services in more than a quarter of casualty and almost half of the outpatients departments in England.
The Scottish Executive's permanent secretary John Elvidge has appointed an external review team to look at improving leadership, strategic thinking and the delivery of policy objectives for the next...
Councils are warning that they are being starved of vital resources to fund basic services because of the government's inability to produce accurate immigration figures.
In these straitened times, it is no surprise that finance directors are looking to make savings on insurance. Many organisations are now planning to ditch traditional insurers for a pooled approach...
Breakfast and after-school clubs have a beneficial effect on children's confidence and motivation but they are being hampered by short-term funding, school inspectors said this week.
