Twenty-five years on from the birth of the Audit Commission, is it time for a radical rethink on public sector inspection and regulation, asks David Walker
The finances of Aberdeen City Council are 'precarious', according to the public spending watchdog responsible for the audit of Scottish local authorities.
The legal framework for flood risk management is 'a mess', with gaps that make it hard to establish who is responsible for what, Sir Michael Pitt, who is carrying out a review of last summer's floods...
Town hall leaders have hit back angrily after ministers pledged this week to 'bust red tape' and 'weed out bureaucracy' to speed up the sluggish planning regime.
Leading public finance officials have told the Scottish government that it has failed to provide any information showing that its plans to replace Private Finance Initiative funding will be less...
Despite the billions of pounds spent on low-income neighbourhoods, inequality continues to rise, according to a report by the New Economics Foundation.
Households living in new eco-towns will be subject to strict transport rules with no more than half permitted to own a car, the government confirmed this week.
Many large councils will soon be involved in carbon trading schemes as part of efforts to combat climate change. But they will need to raise awareness and improve communications if the initiative is...
The fire and rescue service must improve on its response to 999 calls, according to the country's most senior fire and rescue service expert, Sir Ken Knight.
The government wants us to have a big conversation about Britishness. But its proposals for probationary citizenship and symbolic ceremonies are deeply controversial with major implications for...
Over the next two years, nine new English unitary authorities will be created out of 44 existing district and county councils. Paul O'Brien discusses how to take the pain out of the process
The Learning and Skills Council will be dissolved and town halls will take control of the £7bn spent each year in colleges and sixth forms, ministers confirmed this week.
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has launched a draft strategy on participatory budgeting, aiming to give members of the public more say in how public money is spent.
Local authorities are set to be given more powers to crack down on cowboy builders. At the same time, they will have to spend less time regulating firms that provide a good service.
Doctors and patients have cast doubts on the value of the government's extended Patient Choice scheme as ministers did their best to advertise its virtues in advance of an April 1 roll-out.
John Swinney has insisted that the Scottish government's local income tax plans are 'robust' and can be delivered, despite the flood of criticism that greeted the publication of his consultation...
