As the political parties compete for the most radical cuts to red tape before the election, they are turning their magnifying glasses on to regulation and inspection. While a pruning is overdue, it...
The shadow chief secretary to the Treasury is unafraid to speak of huge Whitehall cuts in his plan for better public services. Joseph McHugh heard his battle strategy
Is our system of government in terminal decline, obsessed by spin and central control? Sir Christopher Foster, a former adviser to both Labour and Tory ministers, thinks so. He uses privatisation of...
Red tape could derail government plans to send disaffected young people out into the workplace to acquire new skills and motivation, business leaders have warned.
Public services in Scotland are delivered as part of a patchwork operation that is starting to fray. Minister Tom McCabe is stitching together a reform package that might begin with a reorganisation...
Beefing up city and county regions might paradoxically be the most effective way of putting the local into 'new localism' in the twenty-first century, argues Gerry Stoker
Risk registers are becoming ever-more numerous and elaborate, but they are not worth the Word documents they are printed on if they fail to engage with the everyday business of their organisation
The government's 'utopian dislike of prison' has resulted in a reliance on community punishments even though they are less effective, according to a centre-Right think-tank.
People are being attracted back to Britain's cities by better buildings and public services, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told urban planners this week.
The Inland Revenue has denied that it was unable to cope with thousands of last-minute tax submissions this week, despite acknowledging that its website ground to a halt as the January 31 deadline...
Local authorities found out last week how much they will be able to charge for issuing licences to pubs and bars from next month, and glasses were clinked in celebration in at least a few town halls.
The creation of a single inspection body for the entire criminal justice system would dilute the effectiveness of the prisons' inspectorate, its head has warned.
The Audit Commission is holding talks with the Department of Health on the introduction of a 'policing' system for payment by results to prevent trusts from 'gaming' the new NHS finance system.
Government plans to move thousands of Whitehall staff away from the Southeast received a minor boost this week when Birmingham emerged as the city favoured to host the proposed Gambling Commission.
Audit Scotland has urged the Scottish Prison Service to carry out a detailed assessment of the £30m correctional programmes for prisoners, which accounted for 12% of the cost of operating its prisons...
A Conservative government would save £35bn on government spending by 2007/08 under the spending plans outlined by Michael Howard and Oliver Letwin this week.
