Town halls could be forced to scrap some bus services from 2008 because they face a multimillion pound deficit under Whitehall plans to extend free travel for pensioners.
Newly appointed local government minister John Healey has pledged to forge a 'new relationship' between central and local government and to devolve extensive powers to regional and local levels.
Labour has retained the presidency of Scotland's local government association, despite the loss of seats to the Scottish National Party in May's Holyrood elections.
Opponents of Britain's Private Finance Initiative ignore one rather vital fact it works. Not only does it do what it's meant to do, it does it so well that other countries are queuing up to learn...
Taking the politics out of the NHS sounds like an attractive idea. But an independent board would be bad for democracy and bad for our health, argue George Jones and John Stewart
It's been a challenging week for Team Gordon, as the new PM and his Cabinet strive to show who's in charge. Peter Riddell assesses what all the ministerial changes mean
Public bodies must slash the time it takes to provide services if the government is to become more responsive to citizens' needs, a minister admitted this week.
One in ten people in Britain are shut out of the labour market for reasons that are individual, complex and highly local. The solution is not David Freud's mega-contracts, but drastic devolution of...
The new prime minister is an intellectual heavyweight, with strong views of his own on public policy. So where does this leave Britain's burgeoning think-tank industry? Peter Wilby reports on the...
Combating climate change is a colossal global challenge. But you have got to start somewhere. The LGIU's carbon trading scheme for councils points a way forward, as David Janner-Klausner explains
Voluntary sector organisations are still not on a level playing field with other public service providers, despite central government's efforts, auditors said last week.
The British Medical Association has called on the new prime minister to listen to doctors' advice, as a poll found limited public support for Labour's NHS reforms.
Migrant workers contribute more to the British economy than the costs of the public services they receive, according to a study by the Trades Union Congress.
The Cabinet Office is preparing a submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review that would require Whitehall departments to work together to tackle social exclusion, ministers revealed this week.
Plans to create an independent regulator for councils, housing associations and other social landlords have failed to gain immediate government support.
An independent inquiry into the funding of free personal care for elderly people in Scotland has been ordered by the SNP minority government at Holyrood.
The Department for Communities and Local Government this week accused three councils of wasting taxpayers' money over a legal challenge against Ruth Kelly's plans for more unitary authorities.
Town hall leaders have urged ministers to reject a key proposal from David Freud's welfare review, claiming that regional 'mega-contractors' could fail to combat deep-rooted local unemployment...
Public sector regulators should promote a 'culture of curiosity' among service providers, the Audit Commission's chair, Michael O'Higgins, told delegates.
