Local government needs to take on board lessons from the retail sector if it is to re-engage with the population it serves, according to the prime minister's senior adviser on public service reform.
The government should test out directly elected mayors in at least two big cities, where they would be most suitable, the New Local Government Network claimed this week.
Nick Raynsford has confirmed that the government will not exercise reserve powers to limit how much local authorities can borrow when the Prudential Code comes into force on April 1.
Too many new childcare places are being created with no thought given to how they can be sustained once public funds are exhausted, a senior MP said this week.
The government faces a tight deadline to extend trials of new voting methods this summer, after peers blocked proposals to increase the number of all-postal elections in June.
Government attempts to improve the health of the nation have been thwarted by the failure to set clear targets or to establish the cost-effectiveness of policies focusing on prevention, according to...
Battle lines are being drawn across the public services after the interim conclusions of the Treasury's wide-ranging efficiency review, calling for swingeing civil service job cuts and annual savings...
Radical reform of the council tax is on the way but it will be at least 12 months before a replacement system is drawn up and the details finalised, Public Finance has been told.
The government is expected to introduce severe measures to limit 'benefit tourists' if the number of migrants from eastern Europe exceeds its expectations.
The local government troubleshooter appointed to improve Kingston upon Hull City Council has set up a series of committees to oversee changes at the authority.
Northern Ireland's Department of the Environment has established a team of specialist officers to tackle a growing problem of illegal waste dumping. Dozens of unauthorised dumps have been created on...
The Standards Commission for Scotland, set up almost a year ago to investigate allegations of misconduct against councillors and members of public bodies, has launched its first investigation.
Landlords providing services for people in sheltered housing will receive £15m less next year after an independent review warned that costs were spiralling out of control.
The regeneration of 39 of the most deprived areas of England is being hindered by poor financial reporting and strained relations with local authorities, the National Audit Office warned this week.
Only one in five councils in England and Wales has implemented the historic single status agreement on pay and conditions six years after it was signed, a survey from the GMB union has found.
'Fundamental flaws' in the London Borough of Southwark's planning processes meant auditors were 'unable to refute entirely allegations of corrupt or improper practices' after officers granted...
The head of the consortium that will manage the government's £125m fund to help charities be more effective in public service delivery hopes to use some of the money to test the viability of long-...
Chancellor Gordon Brown's review of the Private Finance Initiative should stipulate that the rules that are mandatory for NHS PFI disclosure should apply to the whole of the public sector, according...
Scottish councils have told ministers they are entitled to the entire £47m that is Scotland's share of the extra expenditure recently allocated for the UK by Chancellor Gordon Brown.
