Christmas has come two weeks early for local government and, in an unlikely turn of events, Gordon Brown has been transformed from Scrooge to Santa Claus.
Council tax bills in Scotland are set to rise by an average of about 4.5%, after the local government funding settlement announced this week by Finance and Public Services Minister Andy Kerr.
Whitehall's biggest union is on collision course with the Treasury after it voted heavily in favour of a return to a national pay framework for civil servants, despite Gordon Brown's support for...
Twenty-six councils have won promotion and nine have slipped down the rankings as the Audit Commission published the first annual update of the Comprehensive Performance Assessments on December 18.
District councils are outperforming top-tier authorities in the drive to meet the government's decent homes target, according to a leading housing inspector.
Senior local authority figures this week warned councils to seize the opportunity to shape Whitehall's Balance of Funding review or face an unpopular regime being imposed upon them.
A Treasury-commissioned report on the state of the UK housing market has prompted calls for a £2bn funding boost to reverse the 'crisis' that has plagued the social housing sector.
Local authorities pledged to do their 'level best' to keep council tax rises to a minimum after Gordon Brown unveiled a £406m cash injection in his Pre-Budget Report this week.
NHS finance salaries must not be downgraded under a new pay system due to be implemented next autumn, leading health service accountants told the Healthcare Financial Management Association...
Regional housing boards will be given more time to draw up future funding plans, but have been warned they must continue to reflect government priorities.
Department of Transport officials did not adequately test the financial plan that launched the beleaguered National Air Traffic Services, relying on 'blind optimism,' MPs have reported.
All public bodies will be required to produce commercial-style accounts by 2006 under Treasury plans to improve the sector's financial transparency and service delivery.
Stronger performance indicators on cutting obesity and smoking, a national strategy on obesity and more resources for public health services are likely to result from the second Wanless Review.
The Audit Commission waded into the bitter council tax row this week with research laying the blame for England's 12.9% average rise in the tax on the government's poor funding system and its...
Audit Scotland is to appoint a managing director of audit services, a new post that has been created as part of a major reorganisation, it was disclosed this week.
The first joint public-private partnership between local authorities has ended after 18 months of negotiations, with Northamptonshire County Council walking away citing an 'unbridgeable funding gap'...
The chief executive of the Criminal Records Bureau defended its second hike in fees in nine months this week, claiming the 17% increase would more accurately reflect the costs of the service.
Eric Pickles, the shadow local government secretary, has described this year's council finance settlement as a 'dog's breakfast' and warned that 'serious funding problems' would hamper new education...
Research conducted by Northern Ireland's Review of Public Administration reveals that the population wants its public services to be improved and for providers to become more accountable to their...
Council chief executives this week criticised the government's proposed overhaul of child care across Britain, claiming it was 'too limited' and 'overly focused on local government structures'.
Local authorities, refugee groups and social workers have condemned controversial plans put forward by the government in this year's Queen's Speech to take the children of failed asylum seekers into...
Chancellor Gordon Brown this week set in motion the roll-out of regional wage settlements across the public services but insisted that changes must be made within existing national pay frameworks.
