Social landlords and other house builders could be offered grants covering periods of up to five years under plans to step up the construction of affordable homes.
Moves to inspect housing associations more rapidly and to give them less advance warning of visits by inspectors could be unfair on the sector, the head of the Audit Commission has warned landlords.
The Conservatives have not just got a new logo but a brand new set of policies. Both might be a bit sketchy, but have they got the potential to grow into something more meaningful? Alex Klaushofer...
Gordon Brown's plans to devolve more executive power offer a real chance of opening up debate over government spending, starting with the Comprehensive Spending Review. But Colin Talbot somehow...
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...
Housing finance is all at sixes and sevens, what with the new DCLG secretary reassessing policies, a range of reviews and reform pilots on the go and the Comprehensive Spending Review just around...
A local authority remains confident of transferring 18,000 homes to a new social landlord, although the government has ruled out its bid for £135m of extra funding.
A sharp rise in the child prison population has left councils hard pressed to meet their statutory duties to care for vulnerable child ex-offenders, say town hall leaders.
Children's needs involve broader issues than exam results and school performance. A new inspection system assesses the way they are dealt with holistically. Shane Flynn looks at the results
The CBI's discussions on public service provision tend to treat the private and voluntary sectors as if they were one and the same. But they are worlds apart in both their motivation and way of...
'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...
Stronger neighbourhood management is needed to tackle antisocial behaviour and reinforce the government's Respect agenda, social landlords were told this week.
The chief executive and finance manager of a housing association that provides homes for refugees and immigrants have been dismissed by the Housing Corporation.
The government wants savings, and e-auctions could help to deliver them. They save time, money and encourage joined-up working, if used in the right context, as Justin Pugsley explains
