Informing the public is more than a duty, it's a challenge to make your audiences sit up and take notice. Wychavon council and the other winners of the Public Reporting and Accountability Awards have...
Alex Salmond's government might be 'in office, not in power'. But that is not holding the Scottish National Party back from launching a radical public sector shake-up. Iain Macwhirter reports from...
The Scottish National Party has added to its success in becoming the minority government at Holyrood by winning influential positions of power locally.
Scotland's auditor general, Bob Black, is to review the cost projections of controversial airport rail link and tram plans for Edinburgh before a final decision is made on whether the projects should...
Is New Labour's modernisation agenda for public services anywhere near endgame? Tony Travers surveys the progress so far and asks whether a Brown government should slow down or speed up the pace of...
The Northern Ireland Assembly has resolved to introduce free personal care for elderly and disabled people, nine years after a royal commission recommended it.
Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has told council leaders he wants to freeze council tax bills from 2008 prior to introducing a local income tax.
Ahead of taking up the premiership, Gordon Brown has promised a redistribution of power down from central to local government. Is this just fantasy politics or will the new PM deliver the goods?
The recent UK-wide elections have highlighted the fact that there is not one NHS but four. Noel Plumridge examines what binds the different health services and what sets them apart
The top tier of the civil service in Scotland has been radically reorganised to fit the slimmer Cabinet introduced by the new Scottish Nationalist Party minority government.
Gordon Brown has said he is not opposed to electoral reform if it keeps the constituency link. One idea is the alternative vote system, which is supported by ministers Gareth Thomas and James...
Scotland's first minority nationalist government was set to be endorsed on May 17 after the historic election of Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond as first minister.
Local political parties across Scotland were entering into crucial negotiations this week to try to strike coalition deals after election results that left all but two of Scotland's 32 councils with...
In the end, 'Super Thursday' wasn't meltdown for New Labour but neither was it a springboard for success. Tony Travers looks at the party's prospects after the local, Scottish and Welsh elections...
Payment by results is here to stay. But now ministers are consulting on the best way to 'unbundle' the tariff-based system. Noel Plumridge braves the details
Personalisation is the latest buzzword in the government's public service policy review. But putting the focus on the customer as user rather than as a taxpayer just sidesteps many of the difficult...
The system of scrutinising public services in Scotland is not 'fit for purpose' and needs to be radically reformed, council leaders and chief officials have concluded.
Labour's battle to retain power at Holyrood and prevent a Scottish National Party victory received a much-needed boost this week when leading personalities, including top business figures, declared...
Councils have called on Audit Scotland to change the way it conducts its Best Value audit process, the system that places a duty on local authorities to make continuous improvements in their...
The future of local government finance moved up the election agenda in Scotland this week as the Liberal Democrats announced their plans for a local income tax.
An influential Scottish Parliament committee has criticised the standard of information given by ministers on the financial consequences of legislation.
Whitehall's largest trade union this week intensified its battle against the government's civil service reform agenda by asking hundreds of local councillors for their views on the controversial...
