The government's Children's Plan sets out an ambitious vision for raising educational standards. Here, schools minister Jim Knight explains how a new approach to commissioning can help local...
The former head of communications watchdog Ofcom, Stephen Carter, has been appointed chief of strategy and principal adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Carter, currently chief executive of...
Business process outsourcing is growing rapidly in local government, as cash-strapped councils agree huge deals with private firms to provide a range of back-office services. Anat Arkin examines the...
Plans to compel local authorities to respond to any petition signed by 250 residents could be 'hijacked' by extremist groups such as the British National Party, the Local Government Association has...
We received an impressive tally of high-scoring entries to our annual sprint through the year's public sector events. So very well done to our winner, Karen Franklin of Spalding in Lincolnshire, who...
Local authorities have attacked the Audit Commission's 'unacceptable' plan to hike its audit fees by up to a third by 2011 and are fighting a last-ditch battle to kill off the proposals.
All local authorities will be expected to prepare their annual accounts in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards from April 2010, CIPFA has announced.
All NHS acute and mental health services in England will be provided by foundation trusts within three years, the Healthcare Financial Management Association conference heard last week.
Proposals to fund public services through the planning system could frustrate efforts to build more affordable housing, social landlords warned this week.
Changes in Scotland's Best Value system will be overseen by Professor John Baillie, the newly appointed chair of the Accounts Commission, which is responsible for the audit of local government.
Campaigners have welcomed government plans to radically transform care and support for elderly and disabled people by extending the system of personalised payments.
The CBI has hit out at government mismanagement of public procurement, which it warns is threatening ministers' ambitious plans for reforming frontline services.
Local government minister John Healey has urged councils to look beyond the 'here and now' and face up to some of the long-term, deep-rooted problems that affect their communities.
Tenants should be given wide-ranging powers to scrutinise their landlords within the new regulatory system for housing associations and local authorities, according to a report.
Council leaders and ministers this week committed to a new relationship which moves closer to recognising central and local government as equal partners in service delivery.
Where next for the IPPR? Judy Hirst talks to its new co-directors about a more consensual style of politics and why two thinking heads are better than one
Urban fire authorities this week warned that national 'resilience capability' could be diminished unless ministers agree to freeze changes which would cut £30m from their budgets.
Love it or loathe it, the PFI has been a part of the public sector for more than a decade. But with changes in government policies and in its accounting treatment, what future, if any, does it have...
When the Home Office accounts were disclaimed by the National Audit Office, it was symptomatic of a wider malaise. The only cure was a complete turnround in the way the department handled its...
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has announced a 'major acceleration' of the programme that allows local authorities to hand over surplus or disused buildings to community organisations for a token...
