External hit squads could be sent into the worst social services departments if they do not improve by November, the Department of Health confirmed this week.
The government's 'carrot and stick' approach to improving the NHS may hinder attempts to reform the service and reduce the impact of the extra £40bn promised in the Budget, according to influential...
Local government minister Nick Raynsford is adamant that Labour's electronic voting initiatives will induce a long-term improvement in electoral turnouts, despite a new report that raises question...
High-performing NHS hospitals will be released from the shackles of direct Whitehall control to give them an incentive to strive for excellence, Health Secretary Alan Milburn has promised.
Education Secretary Estelle Morris stepped into the crisis at the Criminal Records Bureau this week, granting local education authorities access to interim criminal checks to cut the delays in...
Is it ministerial refusal to bow to pressure to change the face of public sector benefits? A surprise affirmation of unions' power to influence policy? Or a deliberately vague document that hides a...
Local government leaders are fighting attempts to incorporate business rates into the revenue support grant, a move that would extinguish all hope of their return to town hall control.
'No blank cheques' was Chancellor Gordon Brown's warning to public sector workers, after pledging £40bn to the NHS in the Budget. Last week's pay settlement for 300,000 health service staff showed...
The NHS could save millions of pounds each year and promote better health by playing a more proactive role in local communities, a King's Fund report says this week.
A new public service ethos should be built into the procurement process to allow public bodies to test the suitability of potential providers, a think-tank has said.
Birmingham and Bradford city councils could face another six months of uncertainty before the government decides whether it will impose mayoral referendums on them, after the Electoral Commission's...
Britain's largest public sector union has rounded on the Audit Commission and accused it of trying to use Comprehensive Performance Assessments to promote privatisation, Public Finance has learned...
Trade unions have reacted with anger to the Local Government Best Value Review findings, unveiled this week, claiming that ministers have failed to tackle adequately the contentious issue of the two-...
The Local Government Association has warned that its acceptance of the government's proposals for the English regions hinges on there being 'a genuine devolution of power from Whitehall'.
Campaigners opposed to the Private Finance Initiative are continuing their struggle with Leeds Council over a multimillion pound housing refurbishment scheme.
The future outline of English regional government was laid out on May 9 when Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Local Government Secretary Stephen Byers launched the regions white paper.
The teaching unions' campaign for a 35-hour working week was dealt a blow on May 8 when the School Teachers' Review Body refused to impose a cap on working hours.
The Northern Ireland Executive's financial crisis has been alleviated by a £200m settlement from the Treasury, along with the gift of defunct security installations and new borrowing powers that...
Claims that Downing Street could halt future mayoral elections because of fears they might lead to increasing support for neo-Nazi parties and other fringe candidates were dismissed this week.
Union leaders have opened another front in the local government pay dispute, writing to new administrations to urge them to 'look after the interests' of staff.
District Audit, the biggest supplier of accounting information to the Audit Commission, has uncovered £40m of public sector fraud in 2000/01, according to its annual report.
