Tony Blair's big political ideas for the next 12 months have drawn immediate criticism following their unveiling at the state opening of Parliament this week.
The visibly deteriorating state of council housing is a political predicament that has haunted successive governments.
In Scotland, the issue of how to tackle an outstanding repair and investment...
Six cities have been named by Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell as contenders to be European Capital of Culture 2008, the year in which Britain is guaranteed the title.
Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff,...
John Prescott was this week unveiling long-awaited planning reforms just as his housing minister firmly indicated that Labour had failed to meet its affordable housing objectives.
CPA is too inflexible, IDA admits
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment is too inflexible, according to the acting executive director of the Improvement and Development Agency.
John O'Brien...
Both young and old British citizens have little interest in local politics, with more than half failing to vote in this year's council elections, a survey published to coincide with Local Democracy...
When Norman Perry became chief executive of the Housing Corporation two years ago, one of his first tasks was to oversee the setting up of a new inspectorate.
The widely anticipated suspension of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly on October 14 was preceded by a flurry of important announcements by ministers before they left their jobs.
Too many social service departments are failing to provide well for their clients, according to a new report from inspectors. Sixteen of the 30 councils that have had their social services reviewed...
The government is spending almost as much building affordable housing as it gives away in discounts to council tenants who buy their homes under the right to buy scheme.
Government plans to exempt existing care homes from controversial environmental standards could lead to a two-tier system of care for older people, claim social services chiefs.
Under the...
Local authority leaders have denounced as 'unnecessary and cruel' the provision in a Home Office Bill that will ban councils from assisting destitute asylum seekers.
Talks have begun over the future of the Housing Corporation after Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced that new regional bodies will become responsible for housing investment across England...
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is to spend the summer battling the rest of Whitehall for a reduction in use of ringfenced grants to councils, now totalling £10bn.
Local government minister Nick Raynsford faces new arguments over the government's code of practice on the two-tier workforce after the long-awaited draft was published this week.
The Spending Review has confirmed what many expected: large increases in resources for many public services. The Budget had already told us how far the overall spending envelope would grow, and laid...
International Development Secretary Clare Short threw out a challenge to accountancy bodies when she told the CIPFA annual conference that 'the future of international development is in the hands of...
Walsall Borough Council is almost certain to be the second authority to suffer direct takeover by the government after an Audit Commission report this week castigated its continuing financial...
Last week, a political cycle was broken. The news that Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had regained part of his old department proved that the Cabinet Office is no longer a dumping ground for has...
