A £2bn pay and conditions deal for teachers has failed to deliver significant improvements in pupil achievement, a Scottish education watchdog has declared.
The Scottish Executive's consultation paper on public sector reform is little more than lightweight theorising, a leading public finance academic has said.
The Scottish Executive is on track to achieve 97% of the pledges it made when a partnership agreement was drawn up between Labour and the Liberal Democrats, First Minister Jack McConnell has claimed.
Well done to all of you who took part your comprehensive knowledge of the news is impressive. Particular congratulations to our winner Sue Alliott at the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea,...
With a Brown premiership predicted for any time soon, all bets are off as to what it will mean for one of Blair's most cherished 'legacy' issues public service reform. Tony Travers hacks through a...
Scottish councils are to receive extra revenue funding of £393m in 2007/08 an increase of 4.7% on last year, Finance Minister Tom McCabe has announced.
Scotland spends £11.2bn more than it gathers from taxes, according to the annual Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland report, published this week by the Scottish Executive.
Road pricing, cutting congestion, reducing carbon monoxide emissions and improving accessibility to public transport will be at the heart of Scotland's 20-year strategy on transport, Transport...
Scotland's traditional dependence on social rented housing is set to change dramatically over the next 14 years, the body representing the housing profession has predicted.
Local government faces fresh strike action in the New Year after the government announced pension scheme reforms deemed unacceptable by trade unions, Public Finance has been told.
Wendy Alexander, who resigned from Jack McConnell's Cabinet four years ago, has returned to Labour's front line as convener of Holyrood's powerful finance committee.
Launching the report of his inquiry into local government finance in Scotland, Sir Peter Burt the current chair of ITV repeated several times what he saw as a main attraction of his proposed new...
The Revenue and Customs department this week launched a £2.5bn review that will initiate thousands more civil service job cuts and close offices across the UK over the next five years.
Far from being on its way out, the Private Finance Initiative has never been in ruder health. As well as strengthening its role in health and education, it is elbowing its way into new areas such as...
Best Value audits in Scotland do not rely on narrow performance indicators nor are they obsessed with processes, contrary to claims in a recent PF article. They are well-rounded aids to help...
Council tax in Scotland should be replaced by a new property tax requiring householders to pay 0.9% of the value of their home annually, the Burt committee on the future of local government finance...
The Scottish Qualifications Authority, at the centre of a major controversy over inaccurate and incomplete exam results six years ago, has re-established confidence in its work, Audit Scotland has...
Wales was always bound to go its own distinctive way on the issue of public service reform. Now, as the Welsh Assembly Government prepares to respond to his review, Sir Jeremy Beecham explains why
Social service leaders are giving their cautious co-operation to a scheme to send vulnerable children to boarding school, but are warning that the project runs counter to the rest of the child...
