CIPFA Scotland will tell MSPs later this week that the Smith Commission’s post-referendum plans to extend devolution were wrong to leave the Scottish Parliament’s new borrowing powers unchanged from...
Audit Scotland has endorsed the Scottish Government’s emergency takeover of the troubled Prestwick Airport, but warned ministers that they urgently need a clear and robust business plan for the...
The Scottish Government has revealed the membership of a 13-strong commission that will examine alternatives to the council tax, with members including Cosla president David O’Neill and head of CIPFA...
The Scottish Parliament has agreed to write-off nearly £500m of unpaid poll tax debts, in spite of Conservative claims that the precedent it establishes amounts to a tax-dodgers’ charter.
Delivering world-class public audit in changing circumstances demands that we think differently and experiment. Scotland is pointing the way, writes Caroline Gardner
A rift between ministers and councils over the Scottish Government’s pledge to maintain pupil-teacher ratios has widened, after the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities said it was considering a...
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon chose a speech in London today to set out the Scottish Government’s alternative to the Westminster ‘cosy consensus’ in favour of fiscal austerity.
Ten of the UK’s largest cities have today launched a ‘freedom charter’ setting out demands for devolution that they said would drive national prosperity and boost local economies.
Plans by the London-based parties to give the Scottish Parliament limited new powers over shaping and setting benefits could make life worse for vulnerable people and carers, the leader of Scotland’s...
Revenue Scotland, the new tax collection agency due to come into force in Scotland from April 1, is fully ready to take over, Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has told the UK Treasury.
Draft legislation to increase the powers of the Scottish Parliament, including retention of income tax receipts, has been published by Westminster today.
Scottish ministers have defended their record in protecting public services, after a Holyrood committee report suggested that £500m, committed in 2011 for radical service reform, had achieved very...
Scotland’s new local government minister has mapped out ambitious plans for a broad-based assault on inequality, as well as a range of measures to strengthen public participation in policy making.
Younger primary schools pupils in Scotland’s schools are entitled to a free school lunch as of today, under a Scottish Government scheme that ministers say will remove the stigma of subsidised meals...
Professor Julian Le Grand, who has advised the government on the creation of public sector mutuals and has undertaken a review of children’s services in Birmingham, is among the public sector...
A proposal to create an English grand committee that could be responsible for determining local government finance settlements is among the options put forward by the Conservative Party to implement...
The Scottish government will be able to issue bonds from next April after the UK Treasury tabled legislation to enhance the borrowing powers of Holyrood.
George Osborne’s Autumn Statement support for the principle of devolving corporation tax to Northern Ireland brought immediate demands from the Scottish National Party for similar powers in Scotland.
Scotland needs better tools for monitoring the public finances to go with its new devolved powers, the auditor general for Scotland has told Public Finance.
Plans to devolve a host of fiscal powers to the Scottish Parliament, including full retention of income tax, make it more important than ever to replace the Barnett formula used to determine levels...
Holyrood is set to retain all income tax raised in Scotland under cross-party plans for further devolution of fiscal powers to Edinburgh following the no vote in September’s independence...
Scotland’s Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) remain inconsistent in their leadership, collaboration and scrutiny, unclear in their ambitions and uneven in their supervision, according to Audit...
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced the creation of a commission to examine possible replacements for the council tax as she set out her first programme for government in the post.
