Prime Minister David Cameron today slammed the ‘appalling legacy’ of Labour’s defence procurement practices, as he revealed an 8% cut to the Ministry of Defence budget over the next four years.
Councils have urged the European Union to adopt a ‘Total Place’ approach to grant allocations, arguing that simpler funding arrangements can cut waste and encourage more effective local spending
The government today confirmed that there would be no revaluation of council tax bands in England during the current Parliament, prompting criticism that the levy is becoming discredited
More children are going to school in developing countries thanks to UK aid, but the government could achieve better value for money from its investment, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has said
A deficit-slashing former Swedish prime minister has recommended that the UK government should start to cut spending and reform public services as soon as possible
A letter of intent signed at the conference yesterday heralded an era of greater co-operation and collaboration between CIPFA and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria
The government is to set up a new body to ensure money spent on overseas aid represents good value for the British taxpayer, the international development secretary has announced
Sweden's response to its 1990s fiscal crisis could provide the coalition government with an instruction kit on how to reassemble the UK economy. Alison Moore spoke to former premier Göran Persson...
The Con-Lib marriage of convenience will usher in a revolution in service provision, predicts Philip Johnston. And it will hurt. But then, no-one promised the public sector a rose garden
A while back, Ireland's economy was at risk of going the way of Greece. But drastic action to tackle the deficit – including public sector cutbacks – has begun to turn things around. Paul Gosling...
Moving civil service administration posts abroad could save the biggest-spending Whitehall departments £50m a year, according to the consultancy industry’s trade body
A European Commission proposal that would have imposed huge fines on public bodies that pay bills late has been defeated after lobbying by local authorities and the NHS
The dire state of the public finances in Greece was confirmed today by a leading think-tank. It stressed, however, that the UK was unlikely to face such a crisis
The government has rejected calls from the European Commission for a swifter crackdown on the UK deficit, amid speculation that better than expected benefit claimant figures could give the chancellor...
The chief executive of the General Medical Council has called on the government to change the law to enable better oversight of foreign doctors practising in the UK
The UK Border agency is failing in its efforts to reach targets for processing asylum applications within six months because of the inadequate staffing levels, an independent report has concluded
Local authorities facing losses following the collapse of the Icelandic banks are challenging the government’s ‘irrational’ decision to allow only some councils to spread their losses
A deal might not have come out of Copenhagen, but the public sector still faces scrutiny of its CO2 emissions. Many larger public bodies are covered by the Carbon Reduction Commitment, which comes...
Forget green shoots. We’re in for a long, hard ride, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz tells Judy Hirst, and an even bigger spending stimulus is the only way out