Below-inflation staged pay awards. A new government committee to vet all deals. Is this an incomes policy in all but name? Alastair Hatchett explains why and how the Treasury is getting tough on...
More than 1,700 low-paid female employees have won equal pay claims against Cumbria County Council. Estimates of the final payout range between £30m to £100m - substantially more than the £8m the...
Finance Minister Tom McCabe has raised doubts about the Scottish Executive's plans for public sector reform by suggesting that its long-awaited 'think-piece' document might be further delayed.
Whitehall's Departmental Capability Reviews should take account of the experience and views of local government, according to a former council chief executive.
Government attempts to speed up planning decisions must not overlook the need for house building to keep pace with economic growth, social landlords said this week.
A top firm of accountants is being called in to examine the finances of Scottish Enterprise after the disclosure that the economic development agency has overspent by £30m.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats this week set out their stalls for the local elections on May 4 and immediately attacked one another's record in local government.
Councils hoping to set up an arm's-length management organisation or transfer their homes to a housing association will be able to submit bids following next month's local elections.
Primary school pupils could be measured against individual development targets under plans to boost social mobility being considered by the Cabinet Office, Public Finance has learnt.
A council that covers the biggest area of all Scottish local authorities has 'significant strengths', but needs to improve the corporate management of its decentralised structure, a public spending...
In the dispute over the Local Government Pension Scheme the government has indicated that it may give trade unions concessions on the issue of protection.
The FE white paper rightly recognises that adults and young people have different learning needs. But more needs to be done to provide adult learners with greater choice and lighter-touch planning
Local government workers are not striking over unreasonable pension demands. They simply want equal treatment with other public sector employees and a fair replacement for the '85-year' rule
The latest guidance issued to councils on 'efficiency gains' is clearer and acknowledges the importance of quality. But there are still gaps, not least how all these savings should be measured....
Rumours of the PFI's death have been greatly exaggerated. With its lengthy inflexible contracts and high annual costs, its days were looking numbered in an era of choice. But then Gordon Brown came...
Nurses and doctors from developing countries can no longer be poached by the NHS, but other richer nations do not have the same restrictions. Ministers Rosie Winterton and Gareth Thomas call for a...
Self-governing trust schools are New Labour's latest big idea for education. But confusion still reigns over their structure and how they will be governed in practice. Tash Shifrin investigates
Local authorities could start issuing more capital bonds as an alternative to central government borrowing or the Private Finance Initiative, according to credit rating agency Standard & Poor's.
A leading local authority has been told it cannot advertise employment training courses for deprived ethnic minority groups at Jobcentre Plus offices following a dispute over the Race Relations Act.
Town halls will need more money if they are to help the government achieve their ambitious carbon emission targets, local government leaders warned this week.
Scottish backbench councillors are to be paid a basic salary of £15,452 a year but leaders will receive less than that recommended by an independent committee.
Local government reforms are threatened by a 'demographic deficit' unless fresh talent is attracted into the sector, an influential think-tank is warning.
