The Scottish government has asked the Accounts Commission to co-ordinate the scrutiny of council functions until longer-term changes are made to the regulatory regime.
Public sector agencies are bearing the brunt of 'round-the-clock drinking and gambling'. But Gordon Brown seems to have lost his earlier resolve to reverse the newly liberalised laws. Peter...
The IDA showed it was taking equality issues seriously when it hired big hitter Angela Mason as adviser to local government. She tells Joseph McHugh her plans
Local authorities' health overview and scrutiny committees' powers should be strengthened but councillors and MPs should not decide which treatments are funded by the health service, the NHS...
A Department of Health survey has revealed widespread doubts among GPs that the government's flagship practice-based commissioning policy is making any difference to the way they work.
Housing associations must work more closely with local authorities to speed up the construction of new homes, the head of a new government agency has said.
The Parliamentary commissioner for standards, John Lyon, has confirmed that he is to launch an investigation into the funding row involving Work and Pensions Secretary Peter Hain following a...
Millions of pounds raised in council rents are set to be snatched from the housing subsidy system by the Treasury and used for general public expenditure.
The Trades Union Congress has stressed the need to maintain a united front as public sector pay negotiations go forward in a potentially hostile climate.
Council leaders in Wales have condemned the budget presented to the Welsh Assembly on January 15 as 'the worst local government settlement since devolution'.
Prevention is the government's big idea for the NHS in 2008, with an ambitious screening programme, personal health and social care budgets and a push against obesity and binge-drinking. Noel...
Even the most well-meaning and innocent of decisions can fall foul of the law, as the government found when it sent schools copies of An inconvenient truth , Al Gore's film about global warming
The 'use of resources' element of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment has led to a dramatic improvement in council services. But it won't be stopping there. In fact, it's set to play an even...
Trade union Unison has warned Birmingham City Council to 'pull back from the brink' as more than 20,000 staff ballot for strike action over the imposition of new contracts.
The Liberal Democrats' new leader, Nick Clegg, has advocated a new type of publicly funded school, in his first speech on public services since being elected to the top job.
Trades unions have backed the call by Trevor Phillips, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, for the 1970 Equal Pay Act to be replaced with new legislation to get women a fairer and...
All Cabinet ministers responsible for Public Service Agreements should be required to provide an annual report to Parliament outlining the progress in meeting the targets, according to the New Local...
Healthcare Commission chair Sir Ian Kennedy has hit out at plans to merge his organisation with two other regulatory bodies, warning MPs that the move could 'set back development of a culture of...
The former head of communications watchdog Ofcom, Stephen Carter, has been appointed chief of strategy and principal adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Carter, currently chief executive of...
Councils in Scotland are to be required to establish registers of assets held under the Common Good, an ancient system of safeguarding property and land that was administered by the former burghs on...
The government's Children's Plan sets out an ambitious vision for raising educational standards. Here, schools minister Jim Knight explains how a new approach to commissioning can help local...
