Ministerial intervention into Britain's largest council looks inevitable after Birmingham this week strongly rejected the government's calls for a referendum for a directly elected mayor.
English and Welsh local authorities this week raised serious concerns over the level of accountability of private sector decision-making under local strategic partnerships.
Local authorities are to be ranked for the first time, with high-performers promised the freedom to sell their services and set their own council tax levels, according to this week's long-awaited...
The NHS has two years to regain public confidence or its principles of a tax-funded, equitable service may be lost for good, health minister Lord Hunt said last week.
Increasing patient expectations will provide the greatest impetus for the NHS to improve, Neil McKay, NHS chief operations officer told the HFMA conference.
Local government employers have emphatically rejected the public sector unions' opening salvo in the 2002 pay negotiations as 'completely unrealistic'.
Labour is facing a major crisis over homelessness after figures showed the number of families living in bed and breakfast accommodation has risen by nearly a quarter in just 12 months.
Charities have called for an independent inquiry into the way the government counts homeless people after ministers declared they had hit their target of reducing the number of rough sleepers by two-...
Local authorities face the prospect of having to raise council taxes if they fail to fund their pension schemes adequately in the next few years, according to the Government Actuary's Department.
Chancellor Gordon Brown's scenario for revitalised health spending including an instant £1bn boost was designed to bring certainty and clarity to the argument over funding.
Almost two-thirds of public sector organisations fear they will be unable to afford the next round of pay increases, according to Public Finance 's latest survey.
Regional rail services look set to move back into public sector control with ministers preparing to give major cities a key role in managing local train networks.
Civil servants across Whitehall are confused about who their 'customers' are, with many considering ministers their main focus for policy, a government-sponsored report reveals.
Local authorities are to be given clear guidance from the government on how much low-cost housing they should demand from developers under the system of 'planning gain'.
Bob Kiley, the transport commissioner for London, told Public Finance this week that the proposed controversial public-private partnership for the Tube was close to falling through.
The Welsh Assembly's finance minister has defended in resolute terms the decision to 'rebadge' Best Value and dilute the role of external inspection in the principality.
A promising start, but must try harder: that is the message from education professionals to the secretary of state Estelle Morris after her government's long-awaited Education Bill was published last...
Chancellor Gordon Brown propelled the debate on the future funding of the National Health Service to the top of the political agenda as he announced a £1bn boost in spending for next year in his pre-...
