Hardworking and 'heroic' civil servants are being let down by a Whitehall culture that rewards failure and ignores successful individuals, a report by a leading think-tank has claimed.
The main reason why so many big outsourcing contracts run aground is the lack of any sort of mechanism to solve disputes before they get out of hand, argues Mark Amsden. But there is a wealth of...
Business rates need to be brought urgently back under local government control, argues Paul Raynes. The current system is inefficient, keeps councils in bondage, involves huge, unnecessary financial...
Tackling antisocial behaviour costs taxpayers £3.4bn a year, but half of all antisocial behaviour orders are breached and some towns are dogged by perceived threats of yobbish acts, a study has...
Sir Michael Lyons' Inquiry into the future of local government has been delayed once more this time so that he can take into account the recommendations of the Barker, Eddington and Leitch reviews...
What links climate change, transport, planning and health? Answer: they are some of the issues that Chancellor Gordon Brown has outsourced to expert, independent review.
An all-too familiar debate was reignited this week as ministers unveiled the provisional local government grant settlement for 2007/08. Councils were quick to warn that they faced tough choices...
Decisions over the pay of senior police officers may be transferred to the body that sets salary levels for top civil servants and army officers, under proposals announced last week.
There's much to please local authorities in the white paper, particularly in terms of deregulation and decentralisation. But real devolution, letting councils decide local priorities, is still a long...
Tolerance for diverse ethnic and religious traditions has long been part of Britain's multicultural society, writes Ann Rossiter. But community cohesion is being seriously undermined and the causes...
Town hall leaders are demanding that devolution must underpin the Bills of the next parliamentary session, as the prime minister used the last Queen's Speech of his tenure to outline a far-reaching...
Health and education took a back seat in the Queen's Speech, but the absence of a Bill merging the health and social care inspectorates drew confused responses.
Local authorities, central government and parents must broaden their sights in the fight against antisocial behaviour and focus on prevention as well as punishment, Whitehall's 'respect' czar...
Wales was always bound to go its own distinctive way on the issue of public service reform. Now, as the Welsh Assembly Government prepares to respond to his review, Sir Jeremy Beecham explains why
Police authorities have reacted with anger and disappointment to the costs paid by central government following the abandonment of the police merger programme.
Capita, one of the UK's largest government outsourcing companies, is set to stand down from the CBI's influential public services board, Public Finance has learnt.
'We will step back and allow more freedom and flexibility at the local level. In exchange, we expect to see more accountability to local citizens, stronger local leadership, better and more efficient...
The Treasury will shortly publish strategies for policy and growth that will set it on a collision course with Prime Minister Tony Blair's Whitehall-wide reviews announced last week.
The Crown Prosecution Service needs to start emulating the most successful private law firms if taxpayers are to be guaranteed value for money, senior MPs said this week.
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.
