The government is heading for another public row with the unions this summer unless the tortuous negotiations over disputes in outsourced contracts are resolved swiftly, it emerged this week.
It is dramatic, to say the least: applications for asylum fell from 8,900 last October to 4,565 in March this year just as Tony Blair suggested and in line with his promise to cut the monthly...
A Bill to abolish NHS trusts and establish community health partnerships in Scotland will be one of the first priorities of the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition Executive, First Minister Jack...
Government plans to revive cottage hospitals are based on 'resources that do not exist and technology that has yet to be invented', the British Medical Association said this week.
In February,...
Schools with budget surpluses must be forced to hand them over to their struggling counterparts to help solve the education funding crisis, a teaching union has demanded.
The National Association...
Local authority bosses have been armed with statistics on private sector salaries to rebut allegations that they are overpaid.
The information has been issued by the Society of Local Authority...
The Scottish Parliament failed to consider the cost implications when it legislated to provide mainstream teaching for pupils with special education needs, Audit Scotland has found.
In a report...
Local government employers this week rubbished union proposals for a £6.50 an hour minimum wage in the sector, claiming it would add £2bn to council wage bills and force £100-a-year tax rises on to...
The Food Standards Agency has come under fire from both environment minister Michael Meacher and consumer groups over the merits of organic and genetically modified food.
Heated exchanges have...
Councils will be forced to 'run to stand still' if the Audit Commission's proposals for reassessing the performance league tables are implemented, the Local Government Association has warned.
The...
Leaders of business and public sector workers have exchanged insults over the role of private firms in providing public services.
Confederation of British Industry president Sir John Egan told the...
Growing mistrust of public bodies is being prompted by suspicions that they are not open and honest with service users, the Audit Commission has warned.
Research by pollster Mori has found that,...
Government plans to dock the housing benefit of tenants who indulge in antisocial behaviour have met a hostile response from local authorities and housing associations.
Work and Pensions Secretary...
The Local Government Association will use its annual conference in Harrogate in July to highlight authorities' fears they are being sidelined in the debate over asylum seekers.
A motion, proposed...
Councils could be given powers to take charge of empty homes and rent them to families in need.
Proposals to make better use of England's 300,000 long-standing empty homes were outlined on May 22...
It has had more false starts than the 1993 Grand National, but the end now finally looks in sight for the year-long firefighters' dispute.
In what has turned into a bitter test of union, central...
Ministers and doctors' leaders reached an impasse over the future of the NHS consultants' contract this week.
Amid a growing sense of crisis, the British Medical Association gave the government a...
Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council has become the first to claim a reward from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for meeting its interim Local Public Service Agreement targets.
The council...
Local authorities hoping to transfer individual housing estates to new landlords dominate the list of proposed stock transfers for 2003.
The list, published this week by the Office of the Deputy...
Capita employees are to be given powers to complete criminal record checks and access police files in a move to prevent any further bottlenecks at the Criminal Records Bureau.
Home Secretary David...
Town hall leaders will use their top-level meeting with government ministers next week to demand assurances that councils will not be sidelined by the much-vaunted policy of 'new localism'.
Fears...
Plans to build thousands of affordable homes remain at risk in spite of a government pledge to smooth over the abolition of a major grant scheme.
A last-minute decision by the Office of the Deputy...
London boroughs have accused the government of 'spin' this week after five local education authorities were named and shamed as having the capital's worst performing schools, despite being recognised...
Councils in Scotland look set to be elected by proportional representation after a deal was agreed between the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats for a new ruling coalition in Scotland.
MSPs...
Chief executives and social services directors must clarify their roles and lines of accountability to ensure there is no repeat of the Anna Climbié case, a report has warned.
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