Sunday is a day of rest and dread if you run a public body. For, come Monday, you know you have to run a gauntlet of inspectors, auditors, MPs and others who all have something to say about your...
The education white paper aims to complete the government's reforms by hugely extending parental choice and providing better schooling all round. But, asks Martin Bentham, will this latest upheaval...
Opponents of new house building are grossly exaggerating the impact that it will have on rural areas in Southeast England, councils were told this week.
A leading educational charity has hit out at the inequities in the education system, releasing research showing that only a tiny proportion of the country's poorest children have access to the best...
A new efficiency plan showing how resources for affordable homes can be made to deliver more has been produced by Communities Scotland, the executive agency responsible for housing and regeneration...
Cabinet secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell this week backed calls for a civil service Act to enshrine Whitehall's independence, but warned that his legislative preferences could be thwarted by political...
It's the biggest shake-up in social care for 30 years, with seamless children's services at its core. But already boundary disputes and rows about funding are spoiling the party
Becoming more efficient isn't an end in itself for local authorities. By improving the way they do things, councils can concentrate more on their main job managing resources and services in the...
Welsh local government leaders are demanding financial help directly from the Treasury to plug the funding gap they claim has been created by a delay in publishing the results of Sir Michael Lyons'...
Despite record sums of money being injected into the NHS, trusts are still struggling to balance the books, with deficits running into millions of pounds. So what is going on? Seamus Ward tries to...
Local Improvement Finance Trusts can make a big difference to health services, but issues need to be resolved around value-for-money comparisons, resourcing and the rationalisation of primary care...
The council tax issue is not going to go away, says Tony Travers. The government might have postponed the revaluation but this won't stop the annual rises and accompanying protests. It's time to take...
Private Finance Initiative credits worth £125m awarded this week will provide incentives for working with the voluntary, health and private sectors, care services minister Liam Byrne has told Public...
A future Conservative government should match Margaret Thatcher's 'enterprise revolution' in industry, with a 'social enterprise revolution' in the public services, shadow health secretary Andrew...
Scottish local authorities have called on the Executive to provide additional funding to cope with the 'massive' financial implications of its flagship law and order Bill.
Local government employers have overstated the 'unaffordability' of the status quo in the local government pension scheme by as much as £95m a year, a study commissioned by the Office of the Deputy...
Jobcentres are not 'punching their weight' and the staff cuts planned under the Gershon efficiency agenda could stymie efforts to get people off benefits and into work, an influential think-tank has...
An independent scrutiny group has been set up by the Scottish Executive to review its expenditure and ensure budgets are meeting priorities across all departments.
Ministers have left ample scope to opt out of implementing two-tier workforce agreements across the public sector, despite pledging to end pay variations for transferred staff, a leading academic has...
There will be no 'fourth option' for funding improvements to housing stock and councils must use private money to achieve the decent homes standard, David Miliband was due to warn delegates in...
Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain has been criticised by the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance for calling for a reduction in the size of the province's public sector.
