The Liberal Democrats successfully shrugged off their image as a high tax-and-spend party after members endorsed radical proposals that shift the focus of taxation from income to wealth and pollution.
Sickness absence rates across the civil service rose last year, despite a blizzard of Whitehall initiatives to tackle the problem, the Cabinet Office has revealed.
As the Labour Party gathers for a tumultuous annual conference, Madeleine Bunting and Simon Parker ask what almost ten years of Blairism has really meant for public services. And how can New Labour...
The new head of the Local Government Information Unit aims to ensure that the think-tank plays a leading role in reform of the sector, he tells Joseph McHugh
Ahead of this week's TUC conference, the chancellor has made clear there will be a 2% cap on public sector pay rises. And with NHS deficits being widely blamed on inflationary pay deals, he is...
The Healthcare Commission is concerned about the standards of children's services in more than a quarter of casualty and almost half of the outpatients departments in England.
New Labour has embraced the world of management consultancy with great enthusiasm. But what has the public sector got back in return? Former management consultant David Craig offers a user-friendly...
Contrary to popular opinion, the government has successfully used IT to transform a variety of services, from electronic payment of benefits to the Jobcentre Plus Job Bank. And the transformation...
'Co-production' is the latest big idea buzzing round Whitehall, with the aim of involving citizens more in the design and delivery of local public services. But, as Vivienne Russell discovered, there...
The Local Government Association has called for an additional £28m in central funding to councils to help them co-ordinate carbon emission reduction commitments, following the government's Energy...
The proposal to open NHS commissioning to private companies envisages that primary care trusts will be able to choose whether or not to use these services. But PCTs look likely to be pressed to do...
The city-regions agenda has been thrown into doubt after two of the chancellor's closest political allies this week revealed their 'deep scepticism' at its viability as a model.
Regional aid budgets face a shake-up as the EU adapts its funding system to deal with enlargement. This is likely to hit areas with fragile economies unless the government offers councils a safety...
Labour and the Conservatives are both vying to be the party of devolution, but do their proposals include the radical 'whole system' reform necessary to succeed, wonders Dick Sorabji
What has a philosophy designed to revolutionise car production got to do with the public sector? Well, quite a lot, it turns out. Zoe Radnor and Paul Walley explain how 'lean thinking' is crossing...
Breakfast and after-school clubs have a beneficial effect on children's confidence and motivation but they are being hampered by short-term funding, school inspectors said this week.
