Gordon Brown has said he is not opposed to electoral reform if it keeps the constituency link. One idea is the alternative vote system, which is supported by ministers Gareth Thomas and James...
Half a million people will need to be transported each day to the 2012 Olympics in London. But so far only £350m is being invested in expanding the capital's transport infrastructure. Christian...
Central government is planning a drive to expand the amount of social housing. So where will this leave traditional housing associations? Caroline Shah looks at one option transferring the entire...
The Lyons report suggested a number of ways forward for local government finance. From abolishing capping to localising the business rate, councils must be prepared to seize the initiative and the...
It's the public services, stupid. As Ireland's voters prepare for a general election, the focus is on problems in the country's huge state sector. The rival parties all have their own solutions,...
Councils are gearing up to resume their role as significant house builders after senior Labour figures said they were vital to increasing the supply of new homes.
Innovative approaches to service delivery can help councils bridge the gap between rising public expectations and tighter finances, the local government watchdog said this week.
Most of the UK's public sector finance managers have spent at least a year working in a private sector environment and the two are increasingly trading top staff, research has found.
Chancellor Gordon Brown must extend payment by results systems across the public services if he is to effectively re-engage staff in the reform agenda, a senior minister has claimed.
NHS reform minister Andy Burnham used his first speech since Prime Minister Tony Blair's resignation to strike a more conciliatory tone towards beleaguered NHS staff.
Dartford Borough Council plans to hold a local referendum to ask householders whether they want to switch from weekly to fortnightly rubbish collections, the first authority to do so.
Rationing of NHS services is 'inevitable' and with us now, but in future it must be done in a more systematic, transparent and equitable way, the BMA declared this week.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has reassured local regeneration projects that their funding is safe, despite the European Commission's decision to suspend some payments under the...
Hundreds of town halls have been left struggling with paperwork after the new online registration system for births and deaths was withdrawn following technical failures.
Pipe, a corporate governance adviser at Transport for London, scored 1,713 votes, well ahead of former CIPFA president Diane Colley, who came second with 1,614. Sarah Wood, interim director of...
Local political parties across Scotland were entering into crucial negotiations this week to try to strike coalition deals after election results that left all but two of Scotland's 32 councils with...
By using the Comprehensive Spending Review as a clean sheet assessment, the government has a chance to satisfy the public's demand for better services while keeping spending under control
The government's initial response to Sir Michael Lyons' report might have seemed muted, but the small print tells a different story. Ministers have not only accepted the core thesis, they have taken...
In the end, 'Super Thursday' wasn't meltdown for New Labour but neither was it a springboard for success. Tony Travers looks at the party's prospects after the local, Scottish and Welsh elections...
The new chief executive of London Councils will be watching out not only for his members but for the capital's less affluent citizens, too, he tells Vivienne Russell
Town halls should seek specialist advice to drive down energy costs, which can vary by up to 50% because fuel markets are so volatile, according to research.
The system of scrutinising public services in Scotland is not 'fit for purpose' and needs to be radically reformed, council leaders and chief officials have concluded.
