Moray Council in north-east Scotland has been warned to take rapid steps to improve its schools after recording one of the worst ratings ever awarded by school inspectors.
The Standards Commission for Scotland, set up almost a year ago to investigate allegations of misconduct against councillors and members of public bodies, has launched its first investigation.
Scottish councils have told ministers they are entitled to the entire £47m that is Scotland's share of the extra expenditure recently allocated for the UK by Chancellor Gordon Brown.
Spending per head in Scotland has increased, despite expectations that the Barnett Formula would bring funding convergence across the UK, a Scottish Parliament committee was told this week.
Scottish local authority leaders this week defended a proposal that councillors should receive a basic annual salary of £25,000 about half the amount paid to members of the Scottish Parliament.
The Department for Education and Skills has admitted that it plans to cut up to 800 jobs as part of an efficiency review that is likely to have repercussions across other Whitehall departments.
Councils in Scotland are still struggling to cut rent arrears and are owed £28.5m 7.4% of the income they were due last year, the Accounts Commission said this week.
Plans to introduce proportional representation for Scottish local government could add £6m to the administration of elections and other costs, senior officials have estimated.
Local government employers want an end to the traditional annual pay talks in favour of multi-year deals, with both English and Scottish councils looking for two-and three-year packages.
A wide-ranging overhaul of the civil service in Scotland, including the recruitment of leading figures from business, is planned by First Minister Jack McConnell.
Council tax bills in Scotland are set to rise by an average of about 4.5%, after the local government funding settlement announced this week by Finance and Public Services Minister Andy Kerr.
The amount Scotland receives from the Treasury to make up for a shortfall in tax income has increased to £8bn, according to the Scottish Executive's latest assessment of the country's finances.
A former chief executive of the North of Scotland Water Authority, Katharine Bryan, is to be the new chief executive of the Northern Ireland Water Service.
The government has shown it is more interested in finance than patients by appointing a former banker as the independent regulator of foundation trusts, according to a leading critic of the...
The economic development agency Scottish Enterprise (SE) has been criticised by auditor general Bob Black for the way it used outside consultants and contractors.
Audit Scotland is to appoint a managing director of audit services, a new post that has been created as part of a major reorganisation, it was disclosed this week.
Devolution is here to stay and is likely to continue to evolve throughout the UK, according to one of the principal architects of the Scottish Executive.
