'Fundamental flaws' in the London Borough of Southwark's planning processes meant auditors were 'unable to refute entirely allegations of corrupt or improper practices' after officers granted...
The Criminal Records Bureau guaranteed its place in the history of government disasters this week with revelations of a £68.2m deficit, qualified accounts, and doubts over its real impact in...
John Prescott's department is this week trying to persuade the home secretary to flex his political muscle and join the battle to avoid another year of politically damaging council tax hikes, Public...
Britain's commissioner for correctional services has strongly denied MPs' accusations that the treatment of youth offenders is a costly, ineffective failure.
Normal political debate has pretty much been forgotten amid the tumult of the Hutton Inquiry report and the vote over university top-up tuition fees, but in recent days senior Labour figures have...
London motorists who obstruct traffic flows by blocking box junctions or disregarding one-way signs will have to hand over £100 fines to local authorities from April.
The UK is not a 'soft touch' for asylum seekers, but there are systematic 'weaknesses' in government policy that need rectifying to restore public confidence in the system, MPs have reported.
Capita, the private sector partner running the Criminal Records Bureau, has been paid a total of £12m to 'compensate' it for the use of paper-based forms, which it claims led to the backlogs in...
The chief inspector of prisons has lent her support to the proposed restructuring of the prison and probation services, but warned that the independence of the inspectorate must not be compromised.
A council's tenants have delivered a major blow to the government's housing strategy after rejecting proposals for an arm's-length management organisation on January 9.
Sir Michael Bichard, the former civil servant charged with leading the inquiry established in the wake of Ian Huntley's conviction, has promised to be fast, thorough and tough.
Welsh Assembly ministers must take immediate action to stimulate housing demand in the Heads of Valleys region because the issue is hindering regeneration initiatives, experts have warned.
The prison and probation services are to be merged in a shake-up of correctional services in England and Wales, which ministers promise will curb inmate numbers and deliver better value for money.
The chief executive of the Criminal Records Bureau defended its second hike in fees in nine months this week, claiming the 17% increase would more accurately reflect the costs of the service.
The Prison Service should not be afraid to come down hard on failing prisons and there is scope for both public and private sector prisons to learn from each other, MPs said this week.
The Criminal Records Bureau is poised to increase its fees again, just five months after a 100% hike in its charges for criminal checks, Public Finance has learnt.
The question of who is going to pick up the estimated £5m £6m costs of policing US President Bush's state visit remained unresolved this week as the Metropolitan Police Authority called for...
MPs have slammed the national IT programme for magistrates' courts as one of the worst examples of a Private Finance Initiative project they have ever seen, describing the procurement as 'disastrous...