Scotland’s auditor general has said she intends to keep a close eye on the Scottish government’s highly controversial plan to allocate every child in Scotland a public sector “named person” from...
Scotland’s seven cities have presented Holyrood with a shopping list of powers, including fiscal responsibilities, which they say are needed to compete with English and other cities that are getting...
Scotland should use the devolution of powers over tax and social security as an opportunity to create a single government department to run both systems, an independent think-tank has proposed.
An independent review of Scotland’s planning system has called for root-and-branch reform to engage the public more actively in improving the built environment by making the process more interesting...
A new Scottish social security agency, an education reform summit, and a 50-50 gender balance law for public boards are among the priorities for the Scottish National Party’s third term in government...
John Swinney’s nine-year stewardship of Scotland’s public finances has ended, after first minister Nicola Sturgeon shifted him to the politically sensitive education portfolio in a major...
The finance and economy briefs in the Scottish Cabinet, combined since 2007 under John Swinney, are to be separated at the outset of the new Holyrood Parliament, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon...
CIPFA is warning the incoming Scottish Government that it will need a rolling programme of reform in financial planning and service delivery if it is to turn its new fiscal powers into the better...
Health service spending in Scotland will be increased by £500m in real terms during the lifetime of the next Scottish Parliament if the Scottish National Party is returned to power on 5 May, first...
An estimated 9,000 pupils in Edinburgh are without lessons in the run-up to exams season after 17 schools, all built within the last 15 years under a controversial public private partnership funding...
The Scottish National Party’s proposal to reform rather than scrap the council tax would still bring about a significant shift in the burden from the poorest households to the wealthiest, according...
First minister Nicola Sturgeon is coming under mounting pressure in the Holyrood election campaign over a £10bn outline investment deal she signed with a Chinese consortium, after corruption...
Scotland’s public services ombudsman has warned the Scottish Parliament that he may need additional funding to meet a rising tide of complaints from the public.
George Osborne’s decision to raise the threshold for the higher 40p rate of income tax will not be followed in Scotland if the Scottish National Party wins May’s Holyrood election, first...
Uncertainty over levels of immigration will make it impossible to plan public services properly for as long as Britain remains in the EU, UKIP’s sole elected parliamentarian in Scotland told a...
Staffordshire County Council has improved key outcomes for its public and achieved £150m of savings by transforming itself from a provider of services to a commissioner of outcomes, delegates to the...
Public finance professionals are uniquely placed to give organisations the leadership, strategy and hope they need to keep up morale in the face of continued austerity, CIPFA chief executive Rob...
The Budget received the traditional mixed reception in Scotland, though with a broad welcome for the help given to the struggling North Sea oil & gas sector.
A government-owned business can be entrepreneurial if it changes its philosophy and encourages ambition and risk-taking, the head of Scotland’s principal ferry operator told delegates to the CIPFA...
Devolution deals that are transforming public services in Greater Manchester would not have happened without Scottish devolution showing the way, former CIPFA president and Bury Council chief...
The collapse in oil prices helped drive up the notional deficit in Scotland’s public finances to almost twice the UK level in 2014/15, according to the annual Government Expenditure...
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced plans to make the council tax in Scotland more progressive and to end the nine-year rate freeze if the Scottish National Party returns to government after...