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
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.
A local authority remains confident of transferring 18,000 homes to a new social landlord, although the government has ruled out its bid for £135m of extra funding.
The future of more than 50 pan-London community services remains in doubt, as the Association of London Government examines proposals to cut grants to voluntary and community organisations by up to a...
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.
Rural youngsters are being denied the education and training opportunities open to their urban counterparts because of accessibility problems, a leading think-tank said this week.
Social care leaders have dismissed the government's claim that there is no need to compensate the sector for the extra responsibilities it has taken on through NHS 'cost shunting'.
Public sector procurement is set to come under attack from trade unions concerned that too many departments, agencies and local authorities still fail to promote workforce development and local job...
The CBI's discussions on public service provision tend to treat the private and voluntary sectors as if they were one and the same. But they are worlds apart in both their motivation and way of...
Contrary to popular opinion, the government has successfully used IT to transform a variety of services, from electronic payment of benefits to the Jobcentre Plus Job Bank. And the transformation...
'Co-production' is the latest big idea buzzing round Whitehall, with the aim of involving citizens more in the design and delivery of local public services. But, as Vivienne Russell discovered, there...
Almost a decade since the Single Status Agreement on equal pay was signed, many councils have yet to put it into practice and others have run into legal challenges and financial hurdles. Now time is...
Charity supremo John Stoker has been appointed the first commissioner designate for the Compact, overseeing relationships between the government and the voluntary sector.
Local government leaders are demanding an urgent meeting with Education Secretary Alan Johnson over claims that authorities wanting to launch capital investment programmes for schools are being...
