The government wants us to have a big conversation about Britishness. But its proposals for probationary citizenship and symbolic ceremonies are deeply controversial with major implications for...
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has launched a draft strategy on participatory budgeting, aiming to give members of the public more say in how public money is spent.
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...
Scots would get their biggest tax cut in a generation under the Scottish National Party government's plans for a local income tax, Finance Secretary John Swinney has claimed.
Peter Robinson is happy to talk about his work as Northern Ireland finance minister. But Ian Paisley's resignation means he's going to have to face up to that succession question very soon, says Paul...
Benefits reform is back centre stage, with new get-tough policies for a part-privatised jobs service. The welfare czar talks to Judy Hirst about breaking the dependency habit
A new system of regulatory budgets for Whitehall departments, setting out the cost of regulations that could be introduced in a given period, would be 'a world first', the government has claimed.
Next week's statement will be a severe test for the chancellor. There's a squeeze on spending and no appetite for tax rises, so what are Alistair Darling's options? PF convened a round table of...
John Swinney has achieved the impossible twice in his first nine months as Scotland's finance secretary. But can the former Scottish National Party leader score a much-needed hat trick? He talked...
Environmental campaigners have urged the government to put climate change at the heart of next week's Budget, as a report by MPs warned that the Treasury was failing to act quickly enough on green...
The Treasury's expert accountancy advisers have backed delaying central government's implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards by a year, because two key departments cannot meet...
The government's promise to halve child poverty by 2010 will not be achieved unless significant resources are made available, according to a report by MPs on the Commons work and pensions select...
Northern Ireland's four main publicly owned ports will cease to be public corporations under proposals to allow them the freedom to borrow privately without it being counted as public sector debt.
If the third sector is to achieve its potential as a supplier of goods and services, it must change its attitude to procurement in a fundamental way; the public sector must look at its mind-set...
An economic downturn is coming, that much almost everyone is agreed on. But its depth, width and length are still uncertain. As the Budget looms, Priyen Patel looks at the options
The NHS is approaching 60 and as deficits turn into surpluses it's not looking bad for its age. But now everyone is anticipating the health minister's final report, and asking how much his...
Social care will continue to deteriorate unless the government urgently reviews its spending plans and radically overhauls the system, campaigners have warned.
The Jobcentre Plus agency has won praise from the National Audit Office, after establishing more than 850 offices around the country in a project that was completed for £314m less than the original £...
