Pressure is mounting on the European Commission to publish a legal framework establishing the limits to which public services must abide by its rules on free market competition.
Moves to inspect housing associations more rapidly and to give them less advance warning of visits by inspectors could be unfair on the sector, the head of the Audit Commission has warned landlords.
The Liberal Democrats successfully shrugged off their image as a high tax-and-spend party after members endorsed radical proposals that shift the focus of taxation from income to wealth and pollution.
Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has removed the symbolic ceiling on private sector involvement in the NHS but has also conceded an important element of finance policy that experts say will curtail...
Almost 3,500 public sector care home places for elderly and disabled people were lost last year and fewer than one third were replaced by independent provision, a report says.
As the Labour Party gathers for a tumultuous annual conference, Madeleine Bunting and Simon Parker ask what almost ten years of Blairism has really meant for public services. And how can New Labour...
Sir Michael Lyons has insisted that he has not ruled out relocalising the business rate but admitted that it was not the answer to the problem of local government funding.
Social exclusion minister Hilary Armstrong this week warned local authorities and government departments that they must improve the way they deliver services to Britain's most vulnerable groups or...
The Department of Health has indicated that it wishes all NHS trusts to move towards the more market-orientated financial system currently experienced only by foundation trusts.
Public sector employment in Scotland has risen by 11% since devolution, with the largest increase in local government, latest statistics have revealed.
More than 10% of social care posts were unfilled in September 2005, an increase of 0.6% from 2001, a survey commissioned by the Local Government Association has found.
All the main parties are looking to voluntary organisations to deliver more public services. Stuart Etherington warns that the sector will be wanting a lot more in return
Local and central government are under intense scrutiny, as a plethora of inquiries and reviews get set to report by the end of the year. But with near-civil war gripping the government, how likely...
Housing finance is all at sixes and sevens, what with the new DCLG secretary reassessing policies, a range of reviews and reform pilots on the go and the Comprehensive Spending Review just around...
Certain services and lower-value contracts have always been exempt from the European Union's procurement directive. But fresh guidance now requires even these to be publicly advertised
The new head of the Local Government Information Unit aims to ensure that the think-tank plays a leading role in reform of the sector, he tells Joseph McHugh
Councils in Scotland are in line for extra funding of around £100m to ease pressure on budgets and limit council tax rises in the year of elections to the Holyrood Parliament and local authorities.
A sharp rise in the child prison population has left councils hard pressed to meet their statutory duties to care for vulnerable child ex-offenders, say town hall leaders.
Ahead of this week's TUC conference, the chancellor has made clear there will be a 2% cap on public sector pay rises. And with NHS deficits being widely blamed on inflationary pay deals, he is...
Children's needs involve broader issues than exam results and school performance. A new inspection system assesses the way they are dealt with holistically. Shane Flynn looks at the results
Town halls need to turn their attention to the practicalities of reconfiguration should local government boundaries be redrawn, consultants are warning.
The Local Government Association is embarking on a root-and-branch review of its operation as it prepares to confront a new era in town hall administration.
