Ahead of next week’s Pre-Budget Report, Public Finance convened a round table to debate the risks and possibilities in trying to deliver more from less public spending. Judy Hirst reports on the good...
MPs have called for urgent reforms to the health care regulation system after two highly rated NHS trusts were found to be failing to keep patients safe
A prominent Conservative council leader has cast doubt over the quality of the shadow Cabinet, suggesting they are not experienced enough to run a country
Scotland’s Finance Secretary, John Swinney, has told councils and the public sector that if progress on shared services doesn’t improve he might be forced to take action
European Union proposals to impose tougher sanctions on public bodies that pay their suppliers late are putting £600m of taxpayers’ money at risk, local authorities have warned
There are silver linings to be found among the clouds of recession if public sector leaders allow innovative ideas to get off the ground, argues Geoff Mulgan
The UK is still bottom of the European Union dustbin league, the Local Government Association has said while praising the doubling of the recycling rate in the past five years
The Human Rights and Equalities Commission and Passenger Focus are the country’s worst performing quangos, according to a damning report by the Local Government Association
Ministers are seeking ways to reduce ring-fencing of public service funding as documents to be released with next month’s Pre-Budget Report reveal a tangled web of funding streams
Councils in London are preparing a new round of lobbying to secure more government funding for primary schools after data showed capacity problems were worse than first thought
The shadow communities secretary has given enthusiastic backing to the local government collaboration programme, predicting it will ‘eclipse’ previous partnership schemes
A Right-leaning think-tank and leading consultancy have recommended that councils cull spending by 20% by 2011 through doing less, outsourcing more and becoming more financially innovative.
Councils have warned that the exodus of children’s social workers after the Baby Peter scandal has put some of the most vulnerable people in society at risk
Changes to the Audit Commission’s fee regime will penalise high-performing councils, which will no longer be able to secure generous discounted rates, according to the Local Government Association
