A catalogue of central government failures strengthens the case for devolving more powers to local government. So why despite decades of official rhetoric and numerous inquiries is Whitehall so...
The chair of the Lyons Inquiry into Local Government says that there is now a consensus in favour of more decentralisation. But councils will have to raise their game to improve transparency and...
The current system for funding long-term care is 'inequitable, incoherent and financially unstable', a three-year research project by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has concluded.
More low-cost homes must be built in rural areas to avoid young people being priced out of local housing, says a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
CIPFA has urged the UK's Department for International Development to promote a new international reporting standard to minimise the multiple reporting burdens placed on poor countries.
The structure of local government, as well as how it is run and financed are all under scrutiny. This offers the perfect opportunity to explore lasting reforms after years of tinkering, argue Frank...
As the axe falls on thousands of frontline NHS posts, the government faces a huge row over the impact on clinical care. Seamus Ward visits a health trust about to shed 1,200 posts and hears both...
Whatever government reform you look at, you'll find joint working is part of it. But councils planning to join up to share services need to ensure that by doing so they don't trigger EU procurement...
A tool for local economic regeneration or an antisocial licence to print money? As competition hots up in the bidding war for the UK's first 'super-casino', Peter Hetherington talks to the councils...
The failure of List 99 to stop paedophiles working with children shocked parents and teachers and nearly did for the career of Education Secretary Ruth Kelly. Phil Revell asks whether the...
Ministers, local government employers and trade unions are set to launch a ground-breaking project with the aim of involving public sector staff in the government's reform programme.
The government has given the NHS and social care services five years to stamp out a pervasive negative culture of attitudes to older people which often results in poor quality care and neglect. But...
The environment dominated the local elections campaign this week as the political parties vied to demonstrate their green credentials in the run-up to polling day on May 4.
Civil service trade unions this week accused the Department for Work and Pensions of withdrawing a commitment to avoid compulsory redundancies in implementing the government's £40bn efficiency...
Despite moves from the European Commission to water down its controversial services directive, concerns remain that it will still lead to the market liberalisation of some public services including...
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has said it will act on businesses' criticisms of the new local authority licensing regime but only when the police and residents have had their say.
The next Conservative government will not run public services 'from a desk in Whitehall' and will give frontline organisations the freedom to make decisions in response to local circumstances, Oliver...
Two deficit-ridden primary care trusts in Wiltshire have withdrawn up to £3m of social care funding from the local authority with just 14 hours' notice.
Unions this week suspended plans for strikes in the lead-up to the local elections, following what they called a 'very positive move forward' in the dispute over the local government pension scheme.
