'The LGA's 'root and branch' review of its work needs to urge the association away from its comfort zone in the Whitehall village, argue George Jones and John Stewart. Instead it should prioritise...
Local government needs to be bold if it is to make the most of the opportunities presented by Local Area Agreements, a senior manager in the sector said last week.
The administration of London boroughs' pension funds is inefficient and millions of pounds could be saved each year if they streamlined their processes, the Audit Commission said this week.
NHS deficits have been caused by 'systematic flaws' in the way funding is allocated across the country rather than poor local management, the Commons health select committee was told last week.
The economic case for joint working in the public sector must be clearly established before plans for shared services are implemented, leading finance officials in Scotland have advised.
Social services departments face an unrealistic funding settlement in next year's Comprehensive Spending Review because the Treasury is basing its calculations on inaccurate and inappropriate data,...
English cities should be empowered to drive forward their own economic plans, with greater control over transport, planning and skills, according to government-commissioned research.
Up to £1bn sitting in schools' bank accounts could be made available for broader non-educational children's services, Education Secretary Alan Johnson has said.
Plans to increase benefit payments to single parents seeking work will have a limited impact because little is being done to keep them in the labour market, a former welfare minister has warned.
Up to 60% of deficit-hit NHS organisations have grounds to appeal against the tight time frames they have been given to cut services and recover their debts, according to the NHS Alliance.
As the NHS's financial crisis continues, the Private Finance Initiative has come in for its share of the blame. But this is wrong, argue Phil Lobb and Tom Startup. In fact, with a more flexible...
Some depressed areas of the UK are set to lose out under a shake-up in EU regional aid. But how much of a problem is this? As Sally Gainsbury reports, the grants scheme has been something of a mixed...
The DoH claims that 'reconfiguration' of NHS services is all about improving clinical care. Critics says it's just to balance the books. Either way there are widespread protests against hospital...
New Audit Commission chair Michael O'Higgins is quietly determined to turn up the heat on his inspectors to ensure they stay in touch. And he is no slouch in the kitchen either, as he tells Joseph...
The Home Office has undervalued the cost of its controversial ID card scheme, critics have warned, despite ministers' claims this week that it would cost taxpayers £5.4bn over ten years.
The public should be able to influence the quality of services through the greater use of choice mechanisms such as the NHS's payment by results, the new chair of the Audit Commission has told...
Schemes that offer council tenants more choice over where to live are saving money because families are more likely to stay in their home longer, new research reveals.
Government proposals to allow social workers to operate out of independent, GP-style practices have been greeted with caution by local government leaders, who fear the policy is masking the...
You can't put a price on education but you can do a lot to narrow the gap between the best- and worst-off pupils. Tash Shifrin reports on efforts to involve the private sector in raising school...
Delegates to next week's annual social services conference are still reeling from the last round of organisational shake-ups. Now there is more change on the way, with a new children's green paper...
A future Conservative government should curtail school selection and establish a 'very different agenda' to the vouchers policy on which the party fought the last election, shadow education secretary...
Government guidelines to ensure no child misses out on an education are being ignored by up to 84% of local authorities, research for the Department for Education and Skills has found.
