The Labour Party has signalled encouragement for councils to build more homes and a central role for directly employed staff in public service delivery.
The Local Government Association has launched a cross-party attack on the government's police reform plans, criticising attempts to increase accountability.
Joint ventures in which the public sector provides the land and funds and the private sector the expertise may be the key part of a government package to boost the building of affordable homes
England's regional development agencies met or exceeded their performance targets in most areas in the past financial year, according to government figures.
Direction-of-travel statements will no longer be applied to council performance under plans for a radically simplified and streamlined version of the new inspection framework for local services,...
A court ruling on equal pay has thrown town hall wage structures into chaos, just days after unions and employers agreed to talks aimed at settling the dispute over this year's pay round.
The Labour government has been keen to use legislation to push through its public sector reform agenda. However, there are unintended consequences when powers are not thought through, say Stephen...
Councillors must improve public trust in local politics if the government's community empowerment initiative is to succeed, according to the Improvement and Development Agency and the think-tank...
Addressing deprivation and access to opportunity is more important in defusing community tensions than attempting to foster a common sense of 'Britishness', according to a report by the Joseph...
he green paper on police service reform proposes to include directly elected local representatives on police authorities. But will they have enough clout, asks Rick Muir
Criticisms of lack of evidence about the third sector's role in public services are misplaced, says Stephen Bubb. The root of the problem is poor commissioning
Doubts over sustainable school design were raised this week, after it was revealed that energy use in state schools would be included in the Carbon Reduction Commitment emissions trading scheme.
An increase in the number of local authorities recruiting existing chief executives from other councils is driving up costs and restricting the recruitment pool, the Audit Commission has said.
The battle over public sector pay looked set to extend to Scotland this week, with civil servants and 100,000 local government workers ready to oppose Scottish Government offers.
Public finance and chief council officers have warned that the Scottish Government's plans for a local income tax would create a funding gap of £742m, partially remove fiscal autonomy from local...
Health minister Ivan Lewis has announced the 25 local authority schemes that will share the £80m Extra Care Housing Fund for 2008-2011. The fund is paid to councils to help them provide specialised...
Liverpool City Council is pressing the Merseyside Pension Fund to give its members a vote on whether ethical issues should be included in its investment principles.
Striking civil servants joined hundreds of thousands of council workers on the picket lines this week as the battle over the government's attempts to limit public sector pay stepped up a gear.
