Public sector organisations around the world are endlessly number-crunching their performance targets. But to what purpose? Bernard Marr spells out the ABCs of good and bad practice
Unions representing more than 200,000 local government workers in Scotland have rejected a three-year pay offer in what the employers claim is a volte-face.
The two main parties are slugging it out for control of London on May 1, and both have everything to play for. A Boris Johnson win would show that the Tories are electable again, a Ken Livingstone...
The number of children living in poverty could dramatically increase over the next 20 years as a result of the way the Treasury adjusts benefits each year, a study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation...
Alistair Darling was forced this week to defend his public spending and fiscal forecasts, as independent economists and politicians warned they lacked credibility.
The government looked to have averted the threat of pay strikes spreading to the NHS after negotiating a three-year pay deal with two major unions this week.
Local government minister John Healey has announced a change in the budgeting rules for councils' capital projects, which he says will encourage self-regulation.
Revenue & Customs should impose greater penalties and make more use of publicity to reduce the £1bn a year in unpaid tax lost in the 'hidden economy', the National Audit Office has said.
Apprenticeships used to be seen as old hat. But now they've had a ministerial makeover and are viewed as vital in helping to rejuvenate an increasingly ageing public sector workforce. Vivienne...
The creation of an adult social services organisation a year ago opened up an opportunity to transform the quality of care for older and disabled people and the infant Adass is rising to the...
Union leaders representing 1.4 million council workers moved closer to following 200,000 teachers on to the picket lines this week, putting renewed pressure on Gordon Brown as he restated his...
A dispute has broken out between the Scottish government and the Treasury over whether ministers in Edinburgh have the power to levy a nationally set local income tax.
Scotland's first minister has challenged opposition parties to agree to a referendum to test constitutional proposals from a newly formed commission, which would radically alter the country's...
Many large councils will soon be involved in carbon trading schemes as part of efforts to combat climate change. But they will need to raise awareness and improve communications if the initiative is...
Twenty-five years on from the birth of the Audit Commission, is it time for a radical rethink on public sector inspection and regulation, asks David Walker
The finances of Aberdeen City Council are 'precarious', according to the public spending watchdog responsible for the audit of Scottish local authorities.
The government has dismissed calls from backbench MPs to ensure that the efficiency savings targets set out in the Comprehensive Spending Review do not lead to cuts in services.
Tucked away in last week's Budget documentation was the announcement that the government intends to set up a Public Value Programme, intended to ensure more bang for the taxpayer's buck.
John Swinney has insisted that the Scottish government's local income tax plans are 'robust' and can be delivered, despite the flood of criticism that greeted the publication of his consultation...
Sickness absence costs the economy £100bn a year and the public sector needs to take a lead in managing the issue, the government's health and work czar said this week.
