Another local authority has pulled out of the government's stock transfer programme because it would prefer to find other ways of improving its housing.
New Labour's obsession with public sector targets has distorted the abilities of the education and health sectors to deliver services the public needs, MPs have heard.
The government has confirmed the appointment of James Strachan, currently chief executive of the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, as the new chair of the Audit Commission.
Sir Jeremy Beecham has made a last-ditch plea to the government to scrap plans to fine authorities deemed responsible for bed-blocking, in advance of next week's Queen's Speech.
Official complaints about elected members of public bodies have risen dramatically in the past few months, following the introduction of a new code of conduct for councillors, the Office of the...
The visibly deteriorating state of council housing is a political predicament that has haunted successive governments.
In Scotland, the issue of how to tackle an outstanding repair and investment...
The chief medical officer for England has ordered an inquiry into the errors that led to 24 patients in Middlesbrough on Teesside being exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
Sir Liam Donaldson...
Sir Andrew Foster, the controller of the Audit Commission, found himself under fire last week from council chief executives and senior managers who were angered by the watchdog's implementation of...
London Mayor Ken Livingstone is likely to oppose government plans to combine the 2004 local elections with the European elections because he fears voters could be confused by the number of ballot...
The Office for National Statistics this week mounted a staunch defence of the way it compiled the 2001 census after fears about the data grew.
Members of the London Assembly are urging its budget...
Schools could soon be hosting health and social services, citizens' advice bureaux and even post offices under a pilot scheme to extend their use in the community.
Schools minister Cathy Ashton...
Senior MPs were this week critical of news that the partner of a senior Labour minister is the front-runner to chair the Audit Commission.
Members of the Commons' public administration select...
'I hope he's got a way out of this,' a sceptical union leader muses of his colleague Andy Gilchrist, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union. Gilchrist's 50,000 members are poised for the first...
CPA is too inflexible, IDA admits
The Comprehensive Performance Assessment is too inflexible, according to the acting executive director of the Improvement and Development Agency.
John O'Brien...
NHS managers have given a surprisingly strong vote of confidence in the Private Finance Initiative's ability to deliver quality, modern facilities for the health service, according to a survey from...
Senior figures at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister this week said they were 'open to any suggestions' that would improve the supply of affordable housing.
Appearing before the Commons' urban...
Crucial parts of government plans for housing finance need to go back to the drawing board, according to the Local Government Association.
In the consultation paper, The way forward for housing...
The Treasury's reforms of the 'green book' herald a new era of rigorous investment appraisal throughout the public sector, according to two influential think-tanks.
Gordon Brown's root-and-branch...
The Audit Commission will not take into account local authorities' financial resources or levels of deprivation when grading them under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment, it has confirmed....
The government 'remains committed' to having elected US-style mayors running town halls, even though Labour was beaten in three of last week's four contests.
The party lost control of traditional...
Both young and old British citizens have little interest in local politics, with more than half failing to vote in this year's council elections, a survey published to coincide with Local Democracy...
When Norman Perry became chief executive of the Housing Corporation two years ago, one of his first tasks was to oversee the setting up of a new inspectorate.
Business will not be forced to provide workers in public-private partnerships with the same terms and conditions as those in the public sector, the director-general of the CBI has warned.
