Public sector trade unions this week attacked Chancellor Gordon Brown's proposed four-year pay freeze for 6 million staff, claiming that many people could face real-term cuts until 2011.
Whitehall officials must improve the design and operation of the administrative systems underpinning UK services if targeted public sector improvements are to be achieved, influential MPs have warned.
Sir Jeremy Beecham's review shows that reform of public services in Wales is on the right track but needs to progress further and faster. The Welsh Assembly Government welcomes the challenge
It seems that time is running out for the big regeneration programmes. But, despite government rhetoric about 'mainstreaming', practitioners fear that their resources might not transfer into the...
Ministers are poised to devolve new welfare powers to cities aimed at combating poverty, raising employment and improving conditions for people with disabilities.
Political acceptability will dictate Sir Michael Lyons' proposals to reform local government finance when he concludes his inquiry later this year, he has told Public Finance
Government plans to amalgamate police forces across England and Wales were left in tatters this week after the only voluntary merger broke down once ministers failed to sanction the requisite council...
Tens of thousands of coastal homes are under threat from rising sea levels and what local government leaders have deemed 'woefully inadequate' funding for sea defences.
The Treasury is to launch a root-and-branch review of procurement throughout the public sector, amid ministers' mounting frustration that many organisations are still not using their buying power to...
Thames Water has been ordered by the regulator Ofwat to invest an extra £150m in repairs after missing its leakage target for the third year in a row. The sum, which must be paid for by the firm's...
For many young vulnerable people, the statutory sector closes its door on them the moment they hit 18. But thanks to new social inclusion projects, this is changing. Nicola Pauling reports
Local government workers should share the risks faced by their pension funds and be subject to possible contribution rate increases or benefit decreases every six to nine years, the government and...
A property company that manages homes for local authorities has become the first private firm to apply to the Housing Corporation to be an accredited landlord.
England's core cities are poised to receive new powers mirroring those already enjoyed by London's mayor in the drive to reinvigorate 'democratic decision-making', Ruth Kelly has indicated.
Disagreement between local authorities over employee benefits in the Local Government Pension Scheme risks fragmenting and ultimately undermining it, unions have told Public Finance .
There is a lull in Westminster, as if everything is waiting for the next PM. For many in the public sector, this represents a welcome rest from a breakneck whirl of reform but not for local...
The government has poured money into public sector pay, but taxpayers can't see any service improvement, the unions are far from grateful and now the chancellor is pulling the plug. It's time to...
The US comptroller general, David Walker, has praised the UK's system of permanent secretaries running Whitehall departments and wants a similar system introduced in US government departments.
Prime Minister Tony Blair this week initiated a crucial phase of his third-term public services reforms a wide-ranging review of private and voluntary sector capabilities across health, social care...
The Housing Market Renewal programme is aimed at regenerating rundown areas, through replacing or renewing poor housing. But it is now threatened by the loss of its champion John Prescott and a...
As three-quarters of UK waste still goes to landfill, there has been talk of charging households that do not recycle. This would not require any new laws as a trio of existing ones could be brought...
The promised summer report on next year's Comprehensive Spending Review has yet to materialise, making it unlikely that MPs will be able to discuss it before the recess. But that's par for the...
