The Audit Commission is to slash £18m from public bodies' annual inspection bills after a review concluded that significant areas of the regulator's activities do not represent value for money.
Paul Boateng has given the green light to development work on a cost index that would accurately reflect the financial pressures faced by local authorities, Public Finance has learned.
The government's workforce 'remodelling' plans, part of its efficiency agenda, are an attempt to get more out of workers for less and could herald a return to job insecurity, unions warned this week.
The Inland Revenue has denied that it was unable to cope with thousands of last-minute tax submissions this week, despite acknowledging that its website ground to a halt as the January 31 deadline...
People are being attracted back to Britain's cities by better buildings and public services, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told urban planners this week.
Edinburgh residents are due to start voting next week on whether the Scottish capital will become the second city in Britain to introduce congestion charging.
Government grant for local authority Private Finance Initiative schemes will move to an annuity-based system, in an effort to level the playing field with other forms of capital finance.
Radical plans to devolve control of services to neighbourhoods and reshape the landscape of local government have been launched this week, as Cabinet ministers gathered in Manchester for the...
The Wanless franchise keeps on growing. Not content with producing two influential reports on future NHS funding and public health, the former NatWest chief executive this week announced he is...
Local government employers have slammed trade union plans to take strike action over pension scheme changes as 'unjustified, precipitate and ultimately futile'.
Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt has ruled out any extra government cash to fund equal pay despite union warnings that prevaricating could cost it more in future.
Senior backbench MPs are demanding greater transparency over Sir Peter Gershon's efficiency targets amid concerns that advice from public spending watchdogs about achieving savings has been kept...
Local authorities found out last week how much they will be able to charge for issuing licences to pubs and bars from next month, and glasses were clinked in celebration in at least a few town halls.
The creation of a single inspection body for the entire criminal justice system would dilute the effectiveness of the prisons' inspectorate, its head has warned.
Only half of the homes bought by council and housing association tenants under a new shared equity scheme are likely to be replaced, landlords were told this week.
Government plans to move thousands of Whitehall staff away from the Southeast received a minor boost this week when Birmingham emerged as the city favoured to host the proposed Gambling Commission.
The long-running pay dispute at the Department for Work and Pensions could end this week after leaders of Whitehall's largest trade union endorsed a three-year deal, worth up to 15% for some staff.
