The government is on a new charm offensive with the voluntary sector. But will all the reviews and initiatives allay charities' suspicions that ministers are looking for public services on the cheap...
The Cornwall Partnership NHS trust has been placed under 'special measures' following a watchdog report revealing 'many years of abusive practices' of adults with learning disabilities.
Proposals to close community hospitals might be delayed after Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt told primary care trusts to adopt new methods of public consultation.
The tangle of performance indicators and reporting requirements that are throttling local government will be swept away following a wide-ranging review being set up to slash red tape in the sector,...
Older people are being 'deprived of the care they deserve' because of the worsening £600m shortfall between what councils have available to fund care services and the minimum they need to spend, the...
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...
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.
For the Labour government, charity began and ended at home. Or the Home Office, at least, where its charitable and voluntary sector policy largely gathered dust after 1997.
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 public sector in Scotland is facing an increasing pension fund shortfall, which now stands at more than £53bn, a study by Audit Scotland has found.
The government has pledged to eliminate the 'postcode lottery' in NHS funding for care home residents through the long-awaited introduction of a single national framework.
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.
The Department of Health cannot legally change the way NHS services are provided without first consulting the affected local population, a high court judge has ruled.
Town halls have been urged to tighten up their record keeping after an investigation by the education watchdog revealed that few schools and councils are keep a reliable and accessible list of...
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...